Will mark the anniversary of Tennyson

2009 marks the 200th anniversary of one of the Isle of Wight’s most famous residents, the great Victorian poet laureate, Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809-1892). To mark this anniversary, a new toposcope – a monument which indicates the direction and distance to visible landmarks – will be unveiled next to the Tennyson Memorial on the clifftop overlooking the spectacular Freshwater Bay, on 6 August, the poet’s 200th birthday.

Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote many of his greatest and best loved works during his time at Farringford on the Isle of Wight, including The Charge of the Light Brigade (1854), Idylls of the King (1859) and Crossing the Bar (1889), and played host to many of the country’s leading politicians and cultural icons  of the time  – Benjamin Disraeli and William Gladstone, the writers Charles Dickens, Lewis Carroll, and Robert Browning, the historian Thomas Carlyle, Charles Darwin, the actress Ellen Terry and the Pre-Raphaelite artists John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and George Frederick Watts.

Prince Albert visited Farringford from his own Isle of Wight retreat at Osborne House in East Cowes (www.english-heritage.org.uk/Osborne), and even the Italian leader Garibaldi made the then arduous ferry crossing to the island in 1864 for a brief visit.

The original bronze toposcope panel was stolen from the top of the cairn twenty years ago, and because Tennyson walked and drew much of his inspiration from the Freshwater Downs where a memorial cross dedicated to him now stands, the organising committee for the new panel felt that Tennyson’s bi-centenary was an appropriate time to commemorate him by re-instating a new one.

On the Centenary itself, August 6th, you can start your Tennyson celebrations by walking up to the Tennyson monument.  The toposcope will be unveiled at 10.30am – a fitting tribute to a poet who is so much part of our landscape.   This polished slate panel will show local landmarks, and edged with words from the man himself:

“Sunset and Evening Star
And one clear call for me
And may there be no moaning of the bar
When I put out to sea.”

(Extract from the poem “Crossing the Bar” (1889) by Alfred Lord Tennyson)

The unveiling is only a small part of the celebrations planned for that day, which include a day of poetry readings and talks on the poet at the Farringford in Freshwater, the poet’s former home from 1853-1889 and now a hotel (www.farringford.co.uk).

The 15-mile Tennyson Trail which stretches from Carisbrooke Castle to the Needles and Alum Bay (www.islandbreaks.co.uk) can still be enjoyed by today’s visitors and during the IW Council-organised Autumn Walking Weekend (23-26 October, www.isleofwightwalkingfestival.co.uk) several guided walks are planned.

It’s easy to get to the Isle of Wight, there are up to 350 ferry crossings a day from Portsmouth, Southampton, Lymington and Southsea.  Once you’re there it’s easy to get around, ferry routes connect directly with the Island’s road, rail and coach links.

For details on how to get to the Isle of Wight, where to stay and what to see and do,  visit www.islandbreaks.co.uk or telephone 01983 813813.