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  "path": "/2026/05/21/english-med-a-cool-creative-hub-without-crowds-st-ives-28261405/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-21T07:50:38.000Z",
  "site": "https://metro.co.uk",
  "tags": [
    "Lifestyle",
    "Travel",
    "Isle of Wight",
    "Travel Inspiration",
    "UK Travel",
    "the Isle of Wight",
    "Bright",
    "o",
    "n",
    "emerging food scene",
    "Metro Deals",
    "Get deal now",
    "TikTok",
    "Ventnor Fringe Festival",
    "comedy",
    "Wet Leg",
    "Joyride Festival",
    "Garlic Festival",
    "travel to Finland to experience sauna culture",
    "Mermaid at the Isle of Wight Distillery",
    "https://www.instagram.com/p/DYZ7QbYN9JC/",
    "Braai",
    "The Terrace Rooms & Wine",
    "The Lighthouse in Steephill Cove",
    "Bembridge Houseboats",
    "Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google\nAdd as preferred source"
  ],
  "textContent": "Chalky cliffs, shimmering bays and scenic coastal paths await (Picture: Getty Images)\n\nWhen I first moved to the Isle of Wight from Brighton in 2021, I worried I’d be cut off from a creative community.\n\nOn the East Sussex coast, I had nightly gigs, street performances, and festivals at my fingertips.\n\nThe island seemed sleepy and distant, with little to offer a girl in her mid-20s except better tanning conditions.\n\nLast year, Condé Nast Traveller named Ventnor beach one of the best in the UK.\n\nBut how naive I was. Because five years on, I’m watching the place I love and call home have a moment in real-time.\n\nFuelled by a thriving DIY arts scene, an emerging food scene, and a growing wellness space, this diamond isle is as unique as its shape.\n\n##  Best of Metro Deals\n\nGet exclusive discounts with Metro Deals – save on getaways and spa days. Powered by Wowcher\n\n**Bannatyne Spa** : Spa day for two with treatments, lunch & prosecco — save up to 57% off.\n\n Get deal now\n\n**Mystery Escape** : Hotel stay with return flights from as low as £92pp — save on worldwide holiday packages.\n\nGet deal now\n\n**Beach Retreat (Lanzarote)** : 4* Lanzarote beach holiday with flights — save up to 58%.\n\nGet deal now\n\nTikTok continues to make viral moments of St. Ives, Hastings, and Margate, but I’m here to tell you: the Isle of Wight is where it’s at.\n\n## Bohemian energy\n\nVentnor is where the magic happens.\n\nThis tiny seaside town is perched on a cliff on the south of the island, and enveloped by St Boniface Down. Its rolling hills are steeped in centuries of Anglo-Saxon and maritime folklore.\n\nOn a clear day, you can see for over 70 miles, extending from Beachy Head to Normandy.\n\nVentnor is known as the ‘English Mediterranean’ (Picture: Sophie-May Williams)\n\nVentnor also has Italianate vibes, thanks to its pastel-coloured villas and zig-zag hill that leads towards the seafront.\n\nBut the feel of the place is bohemian, like stepping back to the ’70s. Daisy Jones & The Six wouldn’t feel out of place here.\n\nVentnor Exchange is the island’s creative pulse, and the independent venue and record store is one of my favourite places to hang out.\n\nThere’s always something going on, whether it’s a book club Sunday, a creative writing Monday, or a sketcher’s workshop Thursday.\n\nSunset on the diamond isle (Picture: Getty Images)\n\nThe Exchange team are also behind Ventnor Fringe Festival, which the Sunday Times described as ‘one of the country’s most surprising and inspirational arts festivals.’\n\nEvery July, the town is transformed into a world of pop-up venues and bars in every conceivable space (yes, there really have been gigs in 11th-century chapels and laundrettes).\n\nHowever, it’s soon set to be an island-wide, year-long event, with the creation of the Exchange Arena.\n\nThis huge circus tent will pitch up in different towns for two weeks at a time, complete with theatre, comedy and musical performances.\n\nFind your new favourite band at Kashmir Café at the Isle of Wight festival (Picture: Sophie-May Williams)\n\nVentnor is also the town that gave Wet Leg their first gig. In 2019, the Grammy and Brit award-winning band played a low-key, intimate show at the now-closed The Rose Inn.\n\nLater, they recorded their first NPR Tiny Desk concert at the Exchange.\n\nThis year, you can catch them at the Isle of Wight Festival, another island calendar staple.\n\nAs soon as you set foot in Seaclose Park — where the festival is held — it’s like being transported back to the summer of love.\n\nFerris wheels, camper vans and vintage stalls spill out onto the fields.\n\nStages like Cirque de la Quirk and Kashmir Café promote an independent feel, showcasing everything from immersive cabarets to indie folk performances.\n\nFestivals, saunas, and sea swims await on the Isle of Wight (Picture: Sophie-May Williams)\n\nThe latter is a volunteer-run stage, with all profits directly supporting Quay Arts, the island’s leading art gallery and venue.\n\nThis year, the stage is set to welcome both local artists and emerging acts from all over the UK. Expect everything from funk fusion, courtesy of North Wales-based band Hunzz, to Pet Lounge, an emerging alt-rock island band.\n\nStandard weekend tickets cost £320.\n\n##  Best island events for summer 2026\n\n• Joyride Festival is a new multi-day event centred around cycling, wellness and music, set within the grounds of Northwood House. There’ll be guided rides across the island’s coastal and countryside routes, curated wellness programmes and Michelin star dining.\n\n• If you love garlic, you’ll love the Garlic Festival. The annual event celebrates the famous locally grown bulb with everything from garlic beer (an acquired taste) and popcorn to ice cream.\n\n• Cowes Week is celebrating its 200th year. As the world’s oldest and largest sailing regatta, expect cool coastal vibes, open-air bars, and waterfront entertainment.\n\n## A wellness movement\n\nYou don’t have to travel to Finland to experience sauna culture. Head to Slomo instead, a wellness concept from Rob and Josie da Bank (who also founded Bestival).\n\nThe couple have two locations on the island — Tapnell Farm and The Point at Bembridge — where you can experience Scandinavian-style ‘contrast therapy.’\n\nAt Tapnell, relax in the UK’s original floating sauna on the lake. In Bembridge, invigorate your senses in a wood-fired sauna followed by an ice bath or a dip in the sea.\n\nFancy some refreshments? The Point also houses a bar and pizza truck right on the beach, where you can grab locally brewed beers from Wight Knuckle Brewery, or a G&T from Mermaid Distillery.\n\nSlomo Sauna sessions start from £15 per person per hour for a communal sauna session, and £120 for a private group of up to 14 people.\n\nMy sister took one for the team and tried the ice bath first (Picture: Sophie-May Williams)\n\nIf you’re in the market for something that combines wellness and creativity, Department, a new cultural space in Ryde, is launching neon and yoga workshops in July.\n\nExactly what it says on the tin, the experience will start with a short yoga session, before experts teach you how to make your own neon light designs.\n\n## A communal food and drink culture\n\n‘The Isle of Wight has quietly become one of the UK’s most exciting food and drink hotspots,’ Xavier Baker, co-founder of Mermaid at the Isle of Wight Distillery, tells **Metro**.\n\n‘There’s a real collaborative energy among local growers, chefs, and food artisans that’s helping to put the island firmly on the culinary map.’\n\nI have to agree. Mermaid, for example, is legendary on the island.\n\nFrom distilling award-winning rum, gin and vodka on site (Lush actually uses their Salt Vodka in its products) to offering tasting experiences, Toby, one of the company’s distillers, also runs monthly open mic nights at their bar.\n\n> https://www.instagram.com/p/DYZ7QbYN9JC/\n\nBack in Ventnor, there’s a new all-day concept from the team at Smoking Lobster — one of my favourite places to dine on the isle.\n\nThe Prep Room, coming this summer, will operate as a seafood restaurant by day, before transitioning into a tiki-style cocktail bar by night.\n\nBraai, a farm-to-fork pop-up restaurant on the historic Nunwell Estate, is also a highlight.\n\nEvery summer, locals and visitors gather for a communal barbecue feast.\n\nLast year, I savoured everything from roasted halloumi in garlic butter to flame-grilled meats. Cookout of dreams.\n\n##  Where to stay on the Isle of Wight\n\nThe island has plenty of accommodation options to suit every traveller.\n\nFor boutique hotel vibes, nothing beats The Terrace Rooms & Wine in Ventnor. Run by husband and wife duo Ashley and Tom Fahey, the hotel was recently nominated for the Condé Nast Traveller Reader’s Choice Awards. Rooms start from £250 per night.\n\nLooking for self-catering options? The Lighthouse in Steephill Cove is the ultimate coastal spot. Perched right on the beach, the house lives up to its nautical name, offering panoramic views of the ocean from every room. The accommodation sleeps up to six people, and rates start from £147 per night.\n\nFinally, for something a little different, book a houseboat on Bembridge Harbour. Bembridge Houseboats has two boats up for rent: Islay and Eleuthera, which can sleep up to 10. Prices start from £250.\n\nComment now Comments \nAdd Metro as a Preferred Source on Google\nAdd as preferred source\n",
  "title": "The ‘English Med’ is a cool, creative hub without the crowds of St Ives"
}