Lots to see and do (The Needles Park (Isle of Wight))

Member Name: nessie3105

Product:	The Needles Park (Isle of Wight)
Date:	23/08/07 (327 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: lots of attractions; great views

Disadvantages: Expensive

The Needles park is situated on the West side of the Isle of Wight at Alum Bay, between the places of Freshwater and Yarmouth. It is easy to reach by car along some of the windy country roads of the island and if you approach from the south, the views of the sea and cliffs are breathtaking. The park can also be reached by bus.

The park is named after the famous Needles rocks and lighthouse, although there is much more to do and see than this.

On arrival at the park, there is an all day parking charge of £3.00, which seems quite expensive. The car park is on a fairly steep slope, so the walk from and to the car can be a little tricky. There are some disabled spaces which are situated at the bottom of the car park, making access easier for people with mobility difficulties.

The car park leads to a fun fair area, which consists of a tea cup ride, a mini pirate ship, a carousel, junior driver and a games kiosk.

All of these attractions are payable separately, so it is easy to soon spend lots of money. The junior driver seems the most popular attraction. Basically, this involves mini motorised vehicles which children from 4 - 11 can drive around roads, complete with traffic lights and roundabouts. It is good fun to watch, as there are usually some near misses, but with only 5 drivers at a time, the queue for this ride can be long.

Prices for the rides are:

Junior Driver - £2.00 or 2 tickets
Carousel - £1.00 or 1 ticket
Games Kiosk - £1.00 or 1 ticket per game
Pirate Ship - £1.00 or 1 ticket
Tea Cup Ride - £1.00 or 1 ticket

Tickets can be purchased individually or a book or 12 tickets costs £9.00.

Other attractions include 'Jurassic Golf', which is crazy golf. This costs £2.00 or 2 tickets per person, the sweet manufactory and Alum Bay Glass, which each cost £1.00 or 1 ticket per person to watch the demonstrations. They both have shops which can be visited for free if ypu prefer not to watch the demos.

I have seen both the sweet making and glass blowing demonstrations. They were both interesting, but my personal recommendation of the two is the glass blowing. Although interesting, the sweet demonstration enables you to only watch one demo, it is crowded and difficult to see and there are set demonstration times. The glass blowing demonstrations, however, are available to watch at any time, viewing is on a raised platform, so it is easy to see and you can watch the demonstrations for as little or as long as you please. Very interesting and fascinating to watch.

In addition to these attractions, the main area of the park has a restaurant, with average priced drinks and food, a bar, a gift shop, a sand shop and other food, drink and clothing kiosks. There are also toilet and baby changing facilities.

One of the main attractions to see, however, is the Needles rocks and lighthouse. There are places within the main area to see this, but the best views can be seen from going down the cliffs to the beach.

This can be achieved in two separate ways. One option to to use the wooden steps and walk down, which leads straight onto the beach. There are a lot of steps and although manageable, I would not recommend this route for less mobile or inactive people, although it is free!!

The second option is to take the chairlift at a cost of £4.00 or 4 tickets for a return trip. I'm not sure if this option would be feasible for anyone who is wheel chair bound as the chairlifts continually move, but at a slow pace, making getting on and off a little tricky for some people. I do think, however, that the chairlifts could be stopped if someone needed more time to get on and off.

The chairlifts go right over and down the cliff edge, giving you fantastic views, but this might be a hair raising experience for people who are afraid of heights!!

There is the option at the bottom of coming off of the chairlifts to explore the beach area of Alum Bay, or alternatively, you can take the trip back up straight away.

Alum Bay is a shingle, pebbly beach and the water can become quite rough, so it is not a good choice for sun bathing. It does give good views of the Needles and the coloured sandstone cliffs, which the bay is also famous for.

Weather permitting, you may have the opportunity of a short 20 - 30 minute boat trip, which takes you out to sea for a closer look at the Needles. We did this last year and I think it cost £4.00 for adults and a cheaper rate for children. I would highly recommend this. You get a different view and perspective of the Needles and also the coloured sand cliffs and this was good value for money.

After exploring the beach, the choice is either a walk back up to the top via the wooden steps, or a return trip on the chairlift.

A final attraction worth mentioning is the sand shop. In this shop, you can buy an empty plastic container, available in various shapes and sizes (Isle of Wight maps, animals etc). You then fill your container up using the different colours of sand that have been collected from the cliffs and then a professional will securely seal your container. This makes a good souvenir, although queues for container sealing can be horrendous.

Overall, the Needles park is well worth a visit, although due to the vast amount of payable attractions, it can be an expensive day out, especially if you have children. Personally, I recommend a walk down to the beach, the boat ride and the glass blowing demonstrations. Beware, however, if you visit at peak times, as you may find that you are queuing for a long time to get into the car park and the park becomes very busy.

Summary: Well worth a visit