Beacon Magazine

jamiecrow2 2 hours ago 3 min read Five mysterious maps, hidden clues and buried secrets. Can you find the treasure? This week, we're swapping the detective's magnifying glass for a treasure map. Each puzzle contains a clue that should lead you one step closer to the prize. There are two easier challenges, two medium puzzles and one fiendishly tricky treasure hunt to finish.

Some towns preserve history in museums. Others seem to have simply carried on living alongside it. Across Europe, there are places where medieval streets are still part of everyday life, ancient walls still shape the town, and centuries-old buildings aren't just monuments—they're homes, shops, cafés and places of worship. For travellers who love history, these five towns offer something rather special: the chance to experience the past without it feeling like a museum exhibit. 1.

Tickets are now on sale for this year's Isle of Wight Literary Festival, with a host of well-known names from broadcasting, television, sport, food and literature heading to Northwood House in Cowes. The festival takes place from October 8th to 11th, with more than 40 speakers appearing across the four-day event.

There are some films that feel like complete stories. They have a beginning, a middle, an ending and, most importantly, nowhere obvious left to go. That doesn't always stop Hollywood. Once a successful film becomes a hit, the temptation to return to the same characters and world can be difficult to resist. Sometimes the result is a worthy sequel. Other times, it makes you wonder whether the original would have been better left alone.

Some places are so spectacular, strange or otherworldly that they seem impossible to be real. Towering castles, mist-covered mountains, colourful villages and landscapes that appear to have been created by a computer rather than nature. You don't need a film set or a special effects department to find them. Around the world, there are real places that look as though they've been borrowed from a fantasy story. Here are five destinations where reality might just be stranger than fiction: 1.

Dominic Kureen 6 minutes ago 2 min read An 88-year-old Islander has enjoyed a very special day with some four-legged friends after a casual conversation with her befriender turned into a memorable trip to the Isle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary. Betty Dixon regularly meets up with volunteer Sharon Newnham through Age UK Isle of Wight’s Gift of Friendship programme, which pairs older Islanders with volunteers for companionship, conversation and days out.

Dominic Kureen 7 minutes ago 1 min read The Isle of Wight Steam Railway is planning a special send-off for one of its popular locomotives before it leaves the Island for a major overhaul. Ivatt locomotive 41313 has been running for ten years since its first overhaul in railway preservation. It now needs a full overhaul to receive a further ten-year boiler certificate. The work, including testing and running in, is expected to take around three years.

An Isle of Wight-based author and broadcaster is celebrating the publication of a new book exploring 200 years of British railway maps — and it has already reached number one in multiple Amazon categories. Mark Ovenden, who was raised on the Island and attended Cowes High School from the age of 13, has co-written Mapping Britain’s Railways: The Design History of a Nation on Track with National Rail mapmaker Andrew Smithers.

There are movie endings that simply wrap up the story, and then there are endings that make you mentally replay everything that came before. A brilliant final reveal can transform a familiar scene, change the meaning of a character's actions, or leave you questioning what you thought you knew. Here are five films whose endings didn't just conclude the story – they changed the way you saw the entire movie - naturally, major spoilers ahead! 1.

jamiecrow2 26 minutes ago 4 min read Five cases. Five sets of clues. Can you think like a detective and work out what really happened? Forget fingerprints and forensic laboratories for a moment. This week's puzzles are all about logic. Each case gives you a handful of clues, and your job is to put them together to reach the only sensible conclusion. There are two easier cases, two medium challenges and one fiendish final investigation. Ready, detective?