We are a busy family of 4 who love to travel. We have enjoyed fantastic exchanges with Iceland, France and Holland in Europe and Utah in the US and we can't wait to do more. Graham (half English and half Canadian) is passionate about history (he wrote a book about a relative who was a WW2 naval aviation hero), genealogy and plants and animals (he lived and studied monkeys for 2 years in North Africa). Graham is well traveled as he used to be involved in international nature conservation projects. He is now busy doing family tree and house history research and can help you explore your own family tree too. Ellemiek (originally from Holland) is a hypnotherapist and regression therapist who also enjoys cooking and baking (she used to bake for the local Country Market cooperative in town, producing cakes, cookies, savories and jams). We home educate our boys aged 13 and 11, Roy and Christopher, who like computer and board games, animals, drawing, fencing (the 'en garde' kind with a foil, like sword fighting), local history, metal detecting, fossil hunting and archeology. We have 2 cats, Socks and Moon who enjoy a cuddle now and then but if you wish to travel during your stay in our home, that is fine as we have made arrangements with friends who will feed them in your absence.
The Isle of Wight has a lot to offer. It is frequently visited by people from mainland UK as a chance to unwind and get away from it all. There are plenty of tourist attractions such as Osbourne House, queen Victoria's residence, Carisbrooke Castle where king Charles I of England was imprisoned in the 1600s, a 2,000 year old Roman villa, there is an internationally renowned Botanic Garden near to the house, several secluded beaches nearby and fantastic nature and cliff top walks, places to find unique dinosaur footprints and the island is a fossil mecca, and of course many English pubs some of which are 500 years old where you can relax with locally brewed beer and listen the the nightly entertainment, and places for traditional English afternoon tea, some of which are 500 years old.