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Island Steam Fair

The family friendly Bank Holiday event of 2025! The Island Steam Show celebrates 50 glorious years. Enjoy a vast collection of vintage transport, traditional fairground, live entertainment, plus majestic steam trains running along the line. Little ones will love playing traditional games such as coconut shys and hook the duck as well as a ride on the steam powered gallopers, perfect for big kids too. Hungry? Refuel at one of the onsite refreshment kiosks or cool down with an ice cream, plus there’s even a real ale bar!

Wolverton Manor Garden Fair

Wolverton Manor Garden Fair is a mix of gardening-related stalls and family-friendly entertainment. So, you can pick up a petunia before admiring classic cars, marvelling at some magic and tapping your foot to some Elizabethan dancing, all within walking distance of Northcourt, here in Shorwell.

Island Car Centre Sandown Sprint

Isle of Wight Speed Trials aimed to bring motorsport to Sandown and has teamed up with the Isle of Wight Car Club, which will be the race event organiser. The IOWCC is affiliated to MSA. This is one of the few speed events run on closed public roads in England under the new regulations.

Shorwell Midsummer Fair

Our very traditional village fair is held on the edge of the village at the beautiful Wolverton Manor. Shorwell Midsummer Fair is one of the last surviving ‘original’ fairs on the Isle of Wight, providing family entertainment and a memorable afternoon for all. Alongside attractions and stalls there is a tea tent, real ale, arena events with displays from dog agility, country dancing, Isle of Wight Marching Band, and live music. Money raised goes to support local charities, community groups and organisations. Free parking. Free entry for children under 16.

Head to the beach

“Smell the sea and see the sky, let your soul and spirit fly” Van Morrison We’re great fans of the beach here at Northcourt and can thoroughly recommend it in winter or summer for long walks, big skies, and much more besides. For those of you who love a walk then there’s nothing better than feeling the sun on your face and the wind in your hair as you stroll along beside the sea. Escape from the confines of indoors, get your winter woollies and wellies on, and follow the Island’s coastal path to Chiltern Chine – our favourite winter beach spot. To the west of the village of Brighstone within a 10-minute drive of Northcourt, it is a small coastal gully created by stream erosion of soft Cretaceous rocks and brilliant for rock pooling and fossil hunting at low tide. In the summer months, we love to go to Compton Farm – just a 15-minute drive away. A mere quarter of a mile away from the farm is Compton Bay, a surfer’s paradise at high tide and a beachcomber’s at low. Rock pooling, sandcastles, and good old-fashioned beach activities like picnics, swimming, and sunbathing are all on the agenda as it is south-facing and so catches all of the sun. But don’t just leave Compton until the summer, explore in winter too! And here are just a few more reasons why you should visit the beach in winter or summer… The minerals and salt in seawater soothe aching joints. Workout in the waves. Playing those beach games. Vital vitamin D. Soaking up that sun is necessary for our bodies to function well. Clear the mental clutter. Technology detox. A great place to contemplate and meditate. So, come and stay with us, enjoy all that the Island has to offer, smell the sea and feel the sky and feel reinvigorated.

Getting out and about

There is nothing better when you’re staying in the countryside than to stay put and do nothing, and as many of our guests will tell you, they do just that! With games in the paddocks, feasting and enjoying food and drinks with family and friends or just relaxing in a corner of the house or garden with a drink and a good book, sometimes staying in is the new going out. But if you do feel that you want to venture further afield, then the house acts as the perfect base to take long cycle rides down country lanes around the Island (if you’re brave enough), even following the final leg of the Tour of Britain (which never happened – another story!). Or you could just take a short trip for an ice cream in Brighstone or lunch at the Wight Mouse in Chale and reward yourself for a trip well taken. If walking is more your thing, then there are plenty to choose from with varying lengths to walk and effort needed. You could take a short 20-minute stroll through the woods popping out above the village with views across the southwest and to the coast or have an all-day adventure along many of the well-signposted footpaths and bridleways, perhaps stopping at the Blacksmiths outside Carisbrooke for lunch or the Red Lion along the River Yar – all AONB and with stunning views across the coast and Island. With fuel prices and also being eco being very much at the forefront of the news and of mind, there are various ways to enjoy the Isle of Wight without breaking the bank and keeping your eco credentials sound. Why not take the bus and leave the car behind? Catch the number 12 bus (which passes through the village with bus stop at the end of the drive) to the Needles, Compton or Freshwater Bay and then perhaps walk back along the Tennyson Trail and enjoy the sunset. Only £2 each way and buses which return well into the night. For those with electric vehicles, we have 2 new 7.2kW EV chargers, so no need for ‘range anxiety’, and there are public, fast EV chargers dotted around the Island. And with plenty of secure parking at the house, you can charge while you enjoy yourself. Plenty of options which depend on how energetic you’re feeling and how far you want to travel, but we do encourage you to get out and about to see what the Isle of Wight has to offer; whether you’re a fan of coast, cove, Downs or woodland and we know you won’t be disappointed.

Escape to the Island

There is something inherently holidayish and even romantic about stepping onto a ferry for the sunny Isle of Wight. Since the Victorians came to the Island to take the air and revel in the microclimate, a sense of decompression and escapism begins as soon as the ferry leaves its port, and you can sit back and enjoy the journey across the water. With the Island being served by three different ferry routes via Lymington, Portsmouth and Southampton, from south London you are only two and half hours away from your holiday, which is far closer and less stressful than a Friday evening trip to Cornwall. Added to that are the wonderful views, sunrises and sunsets across the Solent on all of the crossings, with our own favourite being the Lymington to Yarmouth route (a 40 minute crossing) with its far-reaching views across the Solent. And if that isn’t enough, you can also enjoy the picturesque scenes over the Isle of Wight’s AONB and biosphere landscapes as well as views towards the Needles. And when you get off the ferry? Well, it’s only a short twenty-minute drive to Shorwell down country lanes and rural scenic routes to Northcourt. Stop off en route for supplies at the charming and well stocked Brighstone Village Shop and pick up not just your groceries but local produce including cheeses, wines, eggs and treats. Best of all we can offer heavily discounted ferry tickets (over 50%) with costs as low as £8 per person each way (based on 4 sharing) which is a steal and gives you another great reason to visit. So, what are you waiting for? Make your booking, choose your ferry route and let the decompression begin…

Getting Back to Nature

Although this year’s summer may be winding down, we thought that we’d take time to reflect on just how wonderful a haven for wildlife we have here in Shorwell and at Northcourt in particular. Beginning with the village: Shorwell is a wooded enclave with a chalk stream, nestled at the foot chalk downs with a rolling, rural agricultural landscape leading to the coast. For those who are looking for tranquillity, escapism and inspiration, there are the elevated chalk downs, coastal landscapes which enjoy a lack of noise and light pollution and interestingly most of south-east England’s ‘Dark Skies’ are found in the area. The Island was given designated UNESCO biosphere status in 2019 and that makes it only the seventh UK destination to be awarded this very special award. Closer to home we are constantly in awe of just what’s on our doorstep here at Northcourt, as are our guests who love nothing more to enjoy the peace and tranquillity and of being amongst nature. The gardens offers shelter and sanctuary for all kinds of wildlife including hedgehogs, badgers, stoats, dormouse, and red squirrels and is also home of little owls which you can hear calling throughout the day. Their larger barn owl friends also nest in the Stables and this year we had kestrels nesting in a box in the kitchen garden which thrillingly, reared three chicks. You will see buzzards and if you are very lucky, the more elusive sea eagle soaring high above. Keep your eyes peeled at night and you will spot pipistrelle and long-eared bats, or even one of the UK’s rarest bat, a Bechstein which was found here some years ago. Northcourt’s grounds contain a spring, the Shor Well, which feeds a stream, one of the tributaries of the Buddle Brook and this not only provides the land with water but attracts insects (including humming-bird hawk moth), birds, small mammals and lush fauna to the fifteen acres of mature gardens. We have abundant trees, woodland, borders, and grasslands, all of which play their part in creating what is a foraging, roosting and nesting paradise for many species. On warm summer days there are wall lizards and slow worms sunbathing as well as glow worms to be seen on the terrace during summer evenings. Whatever the season, there’s always plenty of life to be seen in Northcourt’s grounds and, we must confess, we do sometimes take it for granted. So, if you’re coming to visit, bring your walking shoes or wellies, your binoculars and your enthusiasm for all that a proper countryside holiday has to offer. You’ll be delighted that you did!     Image Andy Ames, Northcourt 2021  

We are ready for you!

After a delayed start to the year we are excited to be able to welcome our self-catering guests to Northcourt once again. At this moment in time, large group bookings are not permitted but if you ever needed an excuse to escape the mundane, now is the time! The sun is warming up, miles of beaches and countryside walks to explore, pubs serving food outdoors, and attractions are reopening. From 12 April until 17 May we are able to welcome up to one household (+linked childcare/support bubble) with a 60-70% discount (depending on level of occupancy). From 17 May – 21 June we are able to welcome two households (+linked childcare/support bubble) or up to 6 from multiple households, with a 40-60% discount (depending on level of occupancy). Thereafter, when there are no restrictions on group sizes, we are fully booked until November 2021, when we have limited availability until January 2022. Book now, whilst you can.