Naturally Wight

It's not just for its many cultivated gardens that the Isle of Wight is famous. More than half the Island landscape is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and there are nature reserves and wildlife sanctuaries to visit in its forests and wetlands.

 
Newtown Estuary: The National Nature Reserve at north coast Newtown is a National Trust treasure with important habitats including mud-flats, salt marshes, ancient woodlands and meadows. Free to wander, this is a place for birdwatchers and walkers, keen to spot unusual birds, wildfowl and more than 300 species of wild plants. www.nationaltrust.org.uk/coastline/visit/wildlife .

Brading Marshes: There are views to this RSPB-owned bird sanctuary from a network of footpaths around Brading and Bembridge but keen walkers can join the guided Wildlife Walks that take place on selected Sundays (info: 01983 614878).

Forests and Woodland: A walk in Parkhurst Forest or Firestone Copse could bring you face to face with a red squirrel, a rare sight on the mainland but alive and kicking on the Isle of Wight. A new Red Squirrel Hide has been established at Parkhurst with the help of conservation body Island 2000 Trust, providing squirrel safari trails through some of the Island's best oak and pine trees. At Firestone Copse there's a large area of coppiced hazel to explore whilst the medieval forest at National Trust Borthwood Copse boasts fine oak and beech trees, sweet chestnut and hazel. Free to wander.

Some other wildlife-rich areas to visit include the leafy seaside village of Bonchurch, near-neighbour to Ventnor, with a village pond, which was once a quarry but is now a haven for rare dragonflies and butterflies, and the pretty woodland overlooking the sea at Fort Victoria County Park, near Yarmouth.