With its extensive shopping area, Freshwater has the air of a small town, but holds the status of a village. It has a public indoor swimming pool and an 18 hole golf course in a superb location overlooking the Bay.
Farringford house was once the home of the poet Laureate Alfred Lord Tennyson. Nearby is the island's only thatched church, St Agnes, built on land donated by the Tennyson family in 1908. A friend of the family was the famous Victorian photographer, Julia Margaret Cameron who lived at Dimbola Lodge (now a museum and book shop) overlooking Freshwater bay and opposite Blenheim house.
Freshwater Bay offers splendid cliff walks across unspoiled downland along the Tennyson trail to Tennyson Monument and the Needles beyond, with breathtaking views of the channel and the Solent. Inland from the bay, there are walks through the marshes.
The Island plays host to many top maritime events and many boats anchor at Freshwater Bay to enjoy the peace
