3 ‘Wight’ weddings and a walking festival

So successful is the Isle of Wight speed-dating walk, which forms part of the annual walking festival (3-18 May) – the biggest event of its kind in the UK - that it has already resulted in two weddings with a third couple due to marry in the summer of 2009.

It is no wonder that the Isle of Wight offers the perfect romantic getaway destination when the Island has historically fostered some great love affairs. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert found tranquillity in their home at Osborne House (english-heritage.org.uk), commenting ‘it is impossible to imagine a prettier spot’ while Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote some of his most romantic poetry when living at Farringford, Freshwater Bay, now converted to a hotel boasting charm and stunning period features.

The first to tie the knot after meeting at the first-ever speed-dating walk in 2006 were Phillipa and Eric, closely followed by fellow-Islanders, Karen and Paul, who married this January. The latest couple to be bowled over by the Island as well as each other are Lorraine and Colin who after also meeting at the 2006 event, now live together in Surrey and plan to marry in 2009. Lorraine wrote thanking festival organiser, Elaine Cesar, saying the Isle of Wight speed-dating walk has ‘changed my life’ since ‘meeting the man of my dreams’.

Elaine, from the Isle of Wight Council’s Event team, said: “Although our speed-dating walks have created many matches - we can now boast three perfect matches resulting in two weddings, with a third just announced for 2009! We give visitors the chance to meet the perfect person in the perfect surroundings, or just have a lot of fun with like-minded people”.

The 2008 Isle of Wight speed-dating walk will take place on Sunday 4th May (walk no. 21 in the walking festival programme) and registration forms are available from the website: Isleofwightwalkingfestival.co.uk. Age groups will be mixed and there is also the opportunity to socialise at the beginning and at the end of the walk.

The circular, 4-mile/3-hour walk starts and finishes at the Fisherman’s Cottage, a pub located in the picturesque setting of Luccombe Bay. Walkers simply give their partners a yes or no tick on a ‘matching card’ and swap partners at five-minute intervals. Once back at the pub, participants are advised of any matches made and are then free to exchange contact details with their perfect match before walking off into the sunset together! The walk which commences at 2pm, costs just £5 (excludes refreshments) and booking is essential – full details are available on the website: Isleofwightwalkingfestival.co.uk.

Since it began in 1999, the two-week Isle of Wight Walking Festival has become a firm fixture in the Island’s outdoor events calendar attracting around 15,500 people of all ages from the UK and abroad. Walks are graded, easy, moderate and strenuous with distances ranging from one-mile to a non-stop, 24-hour walk around the Island’s spectacular coastal path (approximately 72 miles). With around 300 walks, including the Celebratory Walking Weekend in October, the Isle of Wight Walking Festival has become the biggest event of its kind in the UK.

The comprehensive 2008 Walking Festival Programme is now available. Book your festival accommodation on-line at Islandbreaks.co.uk There are over 400 accommodation providers to choose from including comfortable B&B's, pretty cottages and rural farmhouses - many situated in the Island's Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty or within a stones-throw of its coastal path network – and some accommodation providers will even transport you to and from the walks!