History of the Isle of Wight proposal. History of the Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight is rich in historical and archaeological sites, from prehistoric fossil beds with dinosaur remains, to dwellings and artefacts dating back to the Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Roman periods. The River Solent was the largest tributary of the Channel River that drained the Hampshire Basin from the Early Pleistocene or late Pliocene. During the Mesolithic period, sea levels in northern Europe were some 30 to 40 metres lower than today, and the land that became Britain was a peninsula of northern Europe. The island was formed at the end
Isle of Wight Festival Isle of Wight Festival The Isle of Wight Festival is a British music festival which takes place annually on the Isle of Wight in Newport, England. It was originally a counterculture event held from 1968 to 1970. The 1970 event was by far the largest and most famous of these early festivals and the unexpectedly high attendance levels led, in 1971, to Parliament adding a section to the Isle of Wight County Council Act 1971 preventing overnight open-air gatherings of more than 5,000 people on the island without a special licence from the council. The event was revived in 2002.