Farringford House is a large manor house, with beautiful gardens, a large front garden where helicopters land, a restaurant called the 'Bistro' which has regular livebands and a previous Masterchef programme winner as a chef, outside swimming pool, tennis courts, holiday homes and a 9 hole golf course, located at in Bedbury Lane, Freshwater Bay on the Western tip of the Isle of Wight

Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...

 in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. There is farm next to it called 'Farringford Farm' but this is privately owned separate to the Farringford owners by the Fidlers' family. It is currently being restored having been a Hotel since leaving the Tennyson familys ownership in the 1940s ,when it is completed (2013 ?)it will be used as a Tennyson study centre and a venue for concerts ,poetry readings ,workshops of various kinds and a a Romantic place to be Married and hold wedding receptions. It is rumoured to have a room connected with Freshwater Bay's own Dimbola Lodge. ref>Farringford: The House of Tennyson official website

It was also the home of Poet Laureate

Poet Laureate

A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...

 Alfred Lord Tennyson who resided here during much of his tenure as Poet laureate until his death in 1892. Some of the surrounding houses, particulary those in Middleton at the start of Moons Hill are connected with the Farringford's history and said to be home to servants. The houses at the end of Queens Road, the junction near the farm used to be stables where the Farringford's horses where kept.

Southern Vectis' Needles Breezer Open Top bus has a stop outside the Farringford and this is the only bus that goes down Bedbury Lane towards Alum Bay.

Tennyson wrote of Farringford:
Tennyson rented Farringford in 1853, and then bought it in 1856. He found that there were too many starstruck tourists who pestered him in Farringford, so he moved to "Aldworth", a stately home on a hill known as Blackdown

Blackdown, Sussex

Blackdown, or Black Down, is the highest hill in the historic county of Sussex, at 280 metres , and is second only to Leith Hill in southeastern England....

 between Lurgashall

Lurgashall

Lurgashall is a village and civil parish in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. It is 6.5 km north west of Petworth and just inside the new South Downs National Park. The church of St Laurence, The Noah's Ark pub, the old school and several old houses are built around a picturesque...

 and Fernhurst

Fernhurst

Fernhurst is a village and civil parish in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. It is located on the A286 Guildford to Chichester road, three miles south of Haslemere...

, about 2 km south of Haslemere

Haslemere

Haslemere is a town in Surrey, England, close to the border with both Hampshire and West Sussex. The major road between London and Portsmouth, the A3, lies to the west, and a branch of the River Wey to the south. Haslemere is approximately south-west of Guildford.Haslemere is surrounded by hills,...

 in West Sussex

West Sussex

West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...

 in 1869. However, he returned to Farringford to spend the winters.

External links

• Farringford holiday village Website
• Farringford House, Freshwater, Isle of Wight, BBC
  BBC
  The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
  
  , h2g2
  H2g2
  h2g2 is a British-based collaborative online encyclopedia project engaged in the construction of, in its own words, "an unconventional guide to life, the universe, and everything", in the spirit of the fictional publication The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy from the science fiction comedy series...
  
  , 8 September 2004.