Osborne House

Having signed up as English Heritage members,

Rachael and I decided to get our monies worth whilst holidaying on the Isle of Wight by cramming 3 attractions into the tail end of our trip.

Entry to Osborne House gives you access to the full grounds and a section of the ground floor of the house.  

Osborne House is a former royal residence of Queen Victoria, 

The house was built between 1845 and 1851 for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as a summer home and rural retreat.

We began our tour at the walled gardens which are a short walk from the car park. The gardens contain a variety of flowers, plants, vegetables and fruits.

After this we took the long route around the side of the grounds past some impressively large trees towards Pavillion beach. Here you can see Queen Victoria’s famous ‘Bathing Machine’ and grab a refreshment from the café.

From here we headed uphill along a dirt path in the direction of the Swiss Cottage. Here you can see some of the activities Queen Victoria’s children took part in – including allotments and a playground.

I of course was more interested in the small café that was selling cakes!

Headed back towards Osborne House from the Swiss Cottage, a small bus stop can be found for a shuttle that supports mobility-impaired visitors enjoy that section of the grounds.

Sneaking a picture of the wife on the way back in to be in keeping with the style of this blog, it was not long before we arrived at the Italian Renaissance style rear courtyard.

Once inside, the attraction is filled with room after room of royal artefacts, furniture and paintings.

I’ve intentionally kept images from inside the house to just the 3 below to give a flavour. We encourage people to visit to enjoy the surroundings first hand.

Overall, it was fascinating to see and learn about some of Queen Victoria and Prince Alberts history and personal items (they worshipped their pets!) and take in the beautiful surroundings on a sunny day. A visit is highly recommended.