Bonchurch Travel Guide
Tourist Guide
![Located on the Isle of Wight UK. Lovely day out. Ventnor Botanic Garden is a botanic garden located in Ventnor, Isle of Wight. It was founded in 1970, by Sir Harold Hillier, and donated to the Isle of Wight Council. The garden is free to visit, except for parking charges. Its collection comprises worldwide temperate and subtropical trees and shrubs organised by region. These grow in the open air, the location favoured by the moist and sheltered microclimate of the south-facing Undercliff landslip area on the Isle of Wight coast. The garden is on the site of the Royal National Hospital for Diseases of the Chest, a sanatorium that was established there to exploit the same mild climate. Founded by Arthur Hill Hassall and opened in 1869 as the National Cottage Hospital for Consumption and Diseases of the Chest, it offered 130 separate south-facing bedrooms for its patients. The hospital was closed in 1964, made obsolete by drug treatment of tuberculosis, and demolished in 1969.[1] In 1970, the site was initially redeveloped as the Steephill Pleasure Gardens before Sir Harold Hillier's involvement in its more extensive development as a botanical garden. Despite the generally mild weather, plants had to be carefully selected to tolerate the shallow alkaline soil and salt winds, and the garden suffered serious damage in the unusually hard winter of 1986/7, the Great Storm of 1987 and another major storm of January 1990. The garden is still owned and managed by the Isle of Wight Council, and continues to develop with numerous new features. The current curator of the garden is Simon Goodenough. The garden is located on the A3055 road, has a large car park, and public transport is provided by buses on Southern Vectis' route 6 and Wightbus' route 16. In September 2008, a woman died after eating Amanita phalloides (death cap) fungi that a relative had picked in the vicinity of the gardens.[2] Police briefly closed the gardens during the investigation, but did not believe the death to be suspicious. A common UK species, death caps are not cultivated at the garden, and those picked appear to have been growing wild on the site.](https://images.trvl-media.com/place/182459/31b1b18d-2235-4bfd-9519-2fb3c781cc44.jpg?impolicy=fcrop&w=1040&h=580&q=mediumHigh)
Visit Bonchurch
The Langstone Quays
Staff lovely.
Reviewed on 2 Mar 2026
Village Hotel Portsmouth
Amazing hotel hard to beat the village hotel. Food and drinks are quite pricey
Reviewed on 5 Mar 2026
ibis Portsmouth Centre
The check in guy remembered me, only stayed once before, that was nice Room clean, beds comfortable, everything you need in the room, a small fridge would be nice
Reviewed on 1 Mar 2026
Mill Rythe Coastal Village
Extremely disappointing first stay. We arranged a 2:30pm check-in, but the accommodation was not ready until 30 mins later. On arrival, we were told to return in 10–15 minutes, only to be told again that it still wasn’t ready. This appears to be a recurring issue based on other reviews. The soft ...
Reviewed on 16 Feb 2026
Pinnacle Suites
The room was great!
Reviewed on 13 Feb 2026
Gunwharf Quays Apartments
The apartment was compact and had everything we needed. Great location, amazing shopping centre on the doorstep. We would love to return.
Reviewed on 22 Feb 2026
Popular places to visit
Ventnor Beach
If a restful holiday is part of your travel plans, Ventnor Beach might be the perfect place to visit during your trip to Ventnor. Wander the gardens and seaside in this quaint area.
Isle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary
Visit the native and exotic animals who live at Isle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary during your travels in Wroxall. Wander the area's beautiful beaches or simply enjoy one of its lively bars.
Steephill Cove Beach
Why not spend a lazy afternoon at Steephill Cove Beach during your trip to Ventnor? Wander the gardens and beaches in this quaint area.
St. Catherine's Lighthouse
You can find out about the history of Niton and Whitwell with a trip to St. Catherine's Lighthouse. Wander the beautiful beaches and seaside in the area.
Blackgang Chine
Enjoy a fun-filled day at Blackgang Chine during your trip to Chale. Wander the beautiful beaches and seaside in the area.
Godshill Model Village
You can spend an afternoon exploring the galleries in Godshill Model Village during your travels in Godshill. Wander the beautiful beaches and seaside in the area.
- Monks Bay Beach
- Old St Boniface Church
- New Forest National Park
- Gunwharf Quays
- Portsmouth Historic Dockyard
- HMS Victory
- Shanklin Beach
- Ryde Pier Head Terminal
- University of Portsmouth
- Mary Rose Museum
- Ventnor Beach
- Chichester Harbour
- Shanklin Old Village
- Isle of Wight Zoo
- Kings Theatre
- Isle Of Wight Coastal Footpath
- Exbury Gardens and Steam Railway
- Sandown Beach
- Cowes Harbour
- Colwell Bay Beach
