The Isle of Wight

Hello Lovely People,

If you are in the UK or anywhere in Europe, you will be in the same sweaty situation as us! I don’t think I’ve ever drunk so much liquid and eaten so many ice lollies in my life, we smashed 4 ice lollies in one sitting the other day! Can you believe! Anyway, it’s seriously HOT right now and we are not geared up for it, cue sniffing out air conditioned places or, if all else fails, standing in front of an open fridge.

Charles and I recently spent a wonderful long weekend in the Isle of Wight and I thought it might be useful to map out all the amazing things we did and what we recommend doing, if you ever take a trip to the island, which you totally should.

First things first, you will need somewhere to stay, we like to go self catering, which I would really recommend. You get the freedom to come and go as you please, you aren’t constrained by meal times and you can bring as much food back as you like. Some useful tips we use when looking for places on Airbnb, because there are loads, are:

• Look at a map of which area you want to stay in, based on landmarks you want to see and places you want to eat at etc.
• I would suggest selecting the entire place, in the filters, there are so many places you can get at very reasonable prices.
• Look at reviews, we have been caught out before by just looking at images and the accommodation was like a crack den!

On this occasion we stayed in Fishbourne, which was right near the ferry terminal. It was super quite and off the beaten track. The interior was quirky and had all the touches you would ever want or need from Netflix to baking trays it had it all! Click here for a link to the accommodation, the hosts were absolutely perfect!

Next on our list is ‘things to do’. This is quite broad and covers seeing landmarks as well as scouting out some fantastic local produce. The first thing that Charles and I did when we got off the ferry was drive to the needles, it’s £5 for parking and you can then walk up to the Needles battery, which gives you a great view of the Needles as well as the stunning coast line. If walking isn’t your thing, there is a chair lift and boat ride or a bus. We opted to walk and it only took us about half an hour.

Another great place to go and see is Osborne House which is in East Cowes. This house was built between 1845 and 1851 and used to be Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s Summer Holiday House. Set in vast grounds and with beautiful sea views it is well worth a visit. You can go into the house itself, which still has some rooms set up as they would have been. Highlights are the dining room and the golden drawing room. Entry is £17.20.

If you are after a great coffee in a place that has an amazing vibe and is independently run, check out The Freshwater Coffeehouse. I found them on Trip Advisor before we went on our holiday and had to stop by. It is run by a family who gave up the rat race in London and moved to the Isle of Wight to follow their passion for opening up a coffee shop. The coffee is great, they have fantastic dairy alternatives and tasty home baked cakes to choose from as well as having a very well priced menu. They are also giving back to the community through various mental health initiatives.

As we were only on the island for two and a bit days, I had to source some Isle of Wight tomatoes which lead us to Uncle Jack’s Farm Shop, they have an incredible selection of organic vegetables, a vast cheese counter and an amazing butcher. If you haven’t gathered from my blog, I love to cook, so made some delicious meals to have Al Fresco on the patio at our Airbnb. Another great foodie place to check out is The Garlic Farm where we picked up some incredible smelling, and tasting, oak smoked garlic as well as black garlic, which I have always been intrigued by.

In true Chloe and Charles fashion, we hopped in the car everyday on a new adventure to see what the island had in store for us. As with all holidays, I recommend planning a few activities which you really want to do and then for the rest of the time, going on a drive to see what adventure unfolds for you that day. It may be an actual 99p ice cream, a walk on a beach you found along the way or just watching a red squirrel crack nuts while you sip of a glass of something cold and fizzy while the sun goes down.

If you’ve been to the Isle of Wight, let me know what your favourite things to do there are? We will most definitely be back!

Chloe

*Disclaimer: All of the opinions above are my own and this post has not been sponsored in anyway. Although if any of the above establishments would like to sponsor me, send me an email :)!

Crab with Squid Ink Spaghetti

Hi Everyone!

This past weekend, Charles and I spent time down in Devon, on the coast of England. I’ve never been there but it is so beautiful, anxiety inducing country lanes, fantastic seafood and just breath taking natural beauty. So relaxing and peaceful. I grew up in a small seaside town so being near the sea is so peaceful and relaxing.

We stopped by Salcombe Distillery and had a couple of Gin and Tonics (YUM!) and had the most deliciously fresh seafood for lunch at Hope Cove, Charles had fish and chips and I had mussels (DOUBLE YUM!).

 

All the fresh sea air got me inspired to make this delicious Crab with Squid Ink Spaghetti. It has a beautiful light, garlicky butter sauce using both brown and white crab meat which you can buy at Waitrose (not sponsored). If you want to have a go at making this simple dish, please see below. You can even make it with normal spaghetti or linguine but the squid ink adds a lovely seafood flavour.

Crab with Squid Ink Spaghetti                                                                      Serves 2

Ingredients

4 Cloves garlic

1 Red chilli

1tbsp Olive oil

100ml Dry white wine

50g Cold butter

1 Package 50/50 crab meat

1 Lemon, juice and rind

Squid ink spaghetti. enough for two

Salt

Pepper

Handful fresh parsley

Method

• Bring a pot of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta according the package instructions.
• Over a medium heat, fry the garlic and chilli in the olive oil.
• Deglaze the pan with the wine and cook for a couple of minutes before removing from the heat.
• Add in the butter, gradually, whisking to emulsify.
• Next add the brown crab meat and stir until incorporated.
• Once the pasta is cooked, add to the sauce, keeping back some of the cooking water from the pasta for later.
• Finish off the dish by adding the white crab, lemon juice and rind and seasoning as required. If at this point, you find the sauce a bit dry add a bit of the reserved cooking water.
• Serve and garnish with the parsley and lemon

 

This recipe is perfect for Spring and Summer and is so easy to make, I highly recommend trying this out!

Chloe