Hello chickenlegs, I've holidayed at Freshwater Bay for the last 18 years! It is, in my opinion, the most beautiful part of the island. There is a small promenade along the bay but not really enough to have an evening stroll along. However, the Albion Hotel is situated right on the bay, overlooking the sea and it's a lovely place to sit and enjoy either a meal or just a glass of wine. The food is good and reasonably priced. Across the road from the bay is the Sandpiper and that's also good for meals. If you are driving around the island, you'll find many brilliant places to visit and pretty much everywhere has good restaurants and cafes to eat. If you're not driving; you'll find that the buses are frequent and zigzag across the island and so everywhere is accessible. The next little town next to Freshwater is Yarmouth and that has a great pier that you can walk along in peace. Gossips Cafe is at the beginning of the pier and commands wonderful views of the sailing boats and ferries. There is also a castle at Yarmouth that's worth a look and also a good selection of interesting little shops. Plenty of cafes, pubs and restaurants to choose from too. Newport is the islands capital and that's quite a busy town with the usual high street stores, plus a large market every Thursday. The art gallery down near the estuary is very good and also has a very good cafe for lunches.
You can catch a bus from Freshwater Bay up to The Needles and the Old Battery and, from there, you can go in the chairlift down to the coloured Sands and the boat trip that goes out to the Needles and lighthouse.
I hope you enjoy your holiday, Freshwater is just beautiful!
