An easy 20 minute walk will take you to:



• ​The Tennyson Trail, which runs across the Downs from the Needles in the West over the unspoilt West Wight leading to Brading and Culver Down in the East.  Spectacular views from the Needles to St Catherine’s Lighthouse in the South
• ​The local shops at Freshwater, including Orchards- the excellent family grocers, various banks and the Post Office
• High Down pub and the Warren Farm tea-rooms
• Farringford House, the home of the poet Alfred Lord Tennyson. The house is currently under restoration however there is also an excellent restaurant in the grounds as well as a 9 hole golf course open to the public

Across the fields and lanes to Freshwater and Totland Bays:

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• Totland Bay has a sheltered beach of sand and pebble and is good for swimming, with rock pools at low tide for exploring. Totland is much as it was in Victorian times; with a pier,and the Lifeboat house dating back to 1884.  Back then, it was a flourishing seaside resort and there are still fine examples of Victorian houses
• Freshwater Bay was the island home of Victorian photographer Julia Margaret Cameron whose home, Dimbola Lodge, overlooks the bay. Dimbola Lodge is now open to the public with a permanent exhibition of Julia Cameron’s life and work, vintage camera displays and changing exhibitions.

​All guests staying at Fieldside house can recieve a 50% discount on museum entry with vouchers given during your stay. They also have a very good restaurant and tearooms open throughout the year for light lunches, Sunday roasts and afternoon tea (see places to eat page).

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​A short drive will take you to:



• Compton Bay - 3.5 miles away - a sweeping sandy beach accessed from the coast road between Freshwater Bay and Brook.  Good for swimming, surfing and body-boarding, as well as kite-surfing.
• Alum Bay with its coloured sands and boat trips out to the Needles, National Trust Old Battery and rocket-testing site and the Needles Amusement Park with chairlift down to the beach.
• The pretty town of Yarmouth is 3 miles away with a busy harbour, a castle and pier, as well as lots of boutique shops and excellent restaurants.
• From Yarmouth you can cycle or walk along the picturesque River Yar to Freshwater, a beautiful walk with many birds

... and much much more...