The Top Museums in England's Isle of Wight

Home to trailblazing Victorian photographer Julia Margaret Cameron between 1860 and 1875, Dimbola Lodge is now under the ownership of the Julia Margaret Cameron Trust and makes for an awe-inspiring visit. Showcasing temporary exhibitions by artists and photographers from all over the world, this light and airy space provides a captivating look into the history of photography along with the life of a remarkable woman.

Not ideal if you’re a pacifist, but The Isle of Wight Military and Heritage Museum certainly packs a punch in historical terms. With a comprehensive collection of tanks, small arms, weapons, uniforms and vehicles stretching from the 1940s to the present day, there’s plenty to look at and absorb in this carefully curated space.

Housing a collection which began with a gift from a Russian aristocrat to a local girl, Premier Khrushchev is said to have posted a wooden set of Russian nesting dolls as a present to an Isle of Wight child, whose mother Margaret Munday was then inspired to begin a collection. In 1974, with enough dolls and toys to open a museum, the family did just that. Now housing more than 2,000 pieces, some of which date back as far as 2000 BC, this eclectic collection lands on the magical side of peculiar. A perfectly eccentric day out steeped in compelling history.