Needles Breezer

The Isle of Wight is home to Southern Vectis, a hugely successful bus company that provides regular, customer-centric services to all parts of this paradisical island. It also host the Needles Breezer which is one of the most spell-binding bus routes in the UK and beyond.

The Needles Breezer is a circular route connecting the tranquil and beautiful West Wight and it’s an open top bus so as you navigate the cliff-hugging, dizzy climb from Alum Bay high up to the Needles Battery, it really is a breezy, hair-raising experience. The views out to sea are utterly intoxicating and it’s the climax of a route that also links the charming small town of Yarmouth with Freshwater Bay and the Needles Isle of Wight attraction with endless family fun, including a chairlift down to the beach.

Gateway to the Needles Breezer – By boat from Lymington to Yarmouth or bus to Yarmouth from Newport. Alternatively, by Megabus from London Heathrow and Gatwick Airport and Southampton to Bournemouth then train to Lymington, changing to Lymington Pier for the Wightlink Ferry. www.nationalrail.co.uk

Start the day with a lovely breakfast and chinwag at Gossip’s coffee shop on the pier at Yarmouth against a backdrop of fantastic views to Dorset, then it’s a 5 minute walk to the bus stop to board the Needles Breezer. It’s worth stopping off at Dimbola Museum and Galleries en route, the home of the renowned Victorian photographer Julia Margaret Cameron and which is now a museum and galleries dedicated to her life and work, which also showcases contemporary exhibitions from photographers around the world.

Then it’s back on the bus which weaves its way up to the Needles Battery, where there’s a great opportunity to disembark to take photos and then return downhill to the wonderful Needles attraction. For countless generations, young and old have enjoyed filling a glass or plastic shape with layers of different coloured sand from Alum Bay and it’s a long held tradition and fond childhood memory to so many. The iconic chairlift, though, is the gateway to Alum Bay and provides simply stunning views over the sea where on descent you can have a swim or maybe enjoy one of the boat tours around the Needles rocks and lighthouse. Returning up the cliff face on the chairlift, there’s go-karting, crazy golf and amusements to be had, including a fascinating tour round the sweet manufacturing museum with the chance to gorge on a humungous range of delights in the shop at the end, before the Needles Breezer bus back in land to wrap up an incredible day of relaxation, culture, scenery and thrills and spills entertainment!