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The two eastern resorts of Sandown and Shanklin merge into each other across the sandy reach of Sandown Bay, representing the island's holiday-making epicentre. SANDOWN , a traditional bucket-and-spade resort, appropriately possesses the island's only surviving pleasure Pier , bedecked with amusement arcades, cafeterias, dodgems and a large theatre with nightly entertainment in season. At the northern end of the Esplanade, the Tiger and Big Cat Sanctuary and Isle of Wight Zoological Gardens (Easter-Oct daily 10am-5pm; rest of year may also open Sun & school half-term holidays; check on 01983/403883; GBP5.75) is the best of a range of family-oriented entertainments, containing several species of tigers, panthers and other big cats, some of which are heading for extinction in the wild. There are also some frisky lemurs and monkeys, and an exhaustive selection of spiders and snakes. SHANKLIN , with its auburn cliffs, Old Village and scenic Chine, has a marginally more sophisticated veneer than its northern neighbour. The rose-clad, thatched charm of its Old Village is a bit syrupy, but the adjacent Shanklin Chine (daily: Easter-May & Oct 10am-5pm; June-Sept 10am-10pm; GBP2.50), a twisting pathway descending a mossy ravine and decorated on summer nights with fairy lights, is undeniably picturesque, popular since early Victorian times when local resident John Keats drew his Romantic imagery from the environs. Sandown's tourist office is at 8 High St (Easter-Oct Mon-Sat 9am-5.30pm, Sun 9am-5pm; Nov-Easter irregular hours, alternating with Shanklin tourist office; tel 01983/403886); Shanklin's is at 67 High St (same hours; tel 01983/862942). Both towns have Island Line train stations about half a mile inland from their beachfront centres. For accommodation , try St Catherine's Hotel , 1 Winchester Park Rd, (tel 01983/402392; GBP50-60), just five minutes walk from Sandown's beach, or Mount Brocas , 15 Beachfield Rd (tel 01983/406276; GBP40-50), a good-value B&B at the west end of High Street, Sandown, also very close to the beach. More secluded is Luccombe Hall , Luccombe Road, a mile from Shanklin's Old Village (tel 01983/862719, ; GBP70-90); originally built as the summer palace for the Bishop of Portsmouth, it now sports two pools. Sandown Youth Hostel , right in the centre of Sandown on Fitzroy Street (tel 01983/402651), lies only a few minutes walk from the beach. For meals and refreshment, head for the King's Bar Cafe , a continental-style licensed cafe with great views over the sea, or Francine's Restaurant (tel 01983/403289), which serves a good variety of English and seafood dishes, both on Sandown's High Street. In Shanklin, the Fisherman's Cottage is an atmospheric seafaring pub with wholesome food, located at the southern end of the Esplanade on Appley Beach.
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