Whippingham
Whippingham lies above the river Medina, it has no real village centre but is made famous by its close connections to Queen Victoria. Osborne House, Queen Victoria's Island home lies on the outskirts and is well worth a visit. It is run by English Heritage and a tour of the house and gardens is wonderful. In the garden lies the Swiss Cottage which was basically transported in pieces from Switzerland then assembled at Osborne House. Queen Victoria formally handed it over to the Royal children on her 35th birthday May 24th 1854.
Lying just opposite the church are the Almhouses. These were built by instruction of Queen Victoria for retired Royal servants. Coburg cottage was also built for this reason and can be found in Mount Road. The cottage was built in 1853 and designed by Prince Albert and is in the style of a Bavarian hunting lodge.
St Mildreds church can also be found in Whippingham. When Queen Victoria came to live at Osborne it was decided that a new parish church should be built replacing the original John Nash building of 1804. Prince Albert worked with Albert Jenkins Humbert who later designed Sandringham. The result was a church with five pinnacles. Inside there are impressive rose windows and a large octagonal lantern in the centre. Princess Beartrice was married here to Prince Henry of Battenberg, uncle of Lord Louis Mountbatten. Both in turn served as Governor of the Isle of Wight and were buried at Whippingham Church.
Another famous house at Whippingham is Barton Manor. Bought by the Queen at the same time as Osborne House, she largely rebuilt it and used it as an overflow for house guests. It also served as a home farm for Osborne Estate.
Down by the river is The Folly Inn, a lively pub which got its name from a sloop which ran aground in the 18th century. It has a lovely river view with lots of pleasure boats moored there. If you walk upstream from here the river broadens to an area that is good for birdwatching. Walking on up the river you will eventually come to Newport Quay.
