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Places to stay in Cowes
Cowes is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east Bank. The two towns are linked by the Cowes Floating Bridge, a chain ferry. East Cowes is separated from its sister town, Cowes, by the River Medina. East Cowes is best known for its industrial heritage and for the fact that Queen Victoria lived at Osborne House which is a short distance from the centre of the town. The town is familiar to visitors to the Island as the terminal for the Southampton car ferry. Queen Victoria used to holiday here with her family and when her husband Prince Albert died, she made the Island her main home. Osborne House is now owned by English Heritage, given to the State by Edward VII. Standing in an elevated position, surveying its grounds, the Solent and southern coast of the mainland, Osborne gives an insight into the opulent lifestyle of perhaps the country’s greatest Monarch. East Cowes has long been established as one of the major industrial areas of the Island. It was the home of British Hovercraft for many years and the large sliding factory doors on the shore, painted with the Union Jack, adorn postcards and are often one of the first major landmarks visitors see. Westland’s, who now own the site, have digressed into other fields and much of the former shoreline which was used for ship building and industry is being re-developed with marina facilities and luxury properties. East Cowes is fast re-generating itself from an industrial area into a major yachting facility.
