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Isle of Wight

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Isle of Wight
An image of the Isle of Wight from the ISS[1]
The Isle of Wight in England
Coordinates: 50°48′N 1°18′W / 50.800°N 1.300°W / 50.800; -1.300
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Constituent countryEngland
RegionSouth East
Time zoneUTC±00:00 (Greenwich Mean Time)
  Summer (DST)UTC+01:00 (British Summer Time)
Member of Parliament
PoliceHampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary
Ceremonial county
Lord LieutenantSusan Sheldon[2]
High SheriffGraham Biss (2024/25)
Area[convert: needs a number]
  Ranked of 48
Population (2005 est.)140,000
  Ranked46th of 48
Density368/km2 (950/sq mi)
Ethnicity
List
Unitary authority
CouncilIsle of Wight Council
Executive 
Admin HQNewport
Area380.2 km2 (146.8 sq mi)
  Ranked106th of 326
Population139,800
  Ranked151st of 326
Density367/km2 (950/sq mi)
ISO 3166-2GB-IOW
GSS codeE06000046
ITLUKJ34
Websiteiow.gov.uk

The Isle of Wight is an island county that is just off the south coast of England. It is about 40 kilometres (25 miles) by 20 kilometres (13 miles) in size. About one hundred and twenty thousand people live on the island.

The Isle of Wight is a county. This means that it has a council of people who make decisions about some things that affect the people who live there. Until 1890 it was part of the administrative county of Hampshire. The county town of the island, which is the place where the council work, is Newport.

Many people like to go on holiday on the island. There are many hotels and tourist attractions. Queen Victoria often visited the Isle of Wight where she owned a large mansion called Osborne House. Tourism is the most important industry on the island.

Over half of the island is officially designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is widely recognised as the most important site in Europe for finding dinosaur remains, and is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

From 2024 health services on the island will be delivered by the newly formed ‘Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust’, made by joining the Solent NHS Trust, Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust and Isle of Wight Trust.[3]

References

[change | change source]
  1. @Cmdr_hadfield (March 30, 2013). "There may never be a clearer picture of the Isle of Wight from space" (Tweet). Retrieved 22 August 2021 via Twitter.
  2. "Queen appoints new Lord-Lieutenant of the Isle of Wight". GOV.UK. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  3. "We are not going "off Island" says health boss as mainland NHS Trust approved". Isle of Wight County Press. 2023-11-23. Retrieved 2023-11-24.