[4] Charles Godfrey Leland's 19th-century verses describe the towns poetically as "The two great Cowes that in loud thunder roar/This on the eastern, that the western shore".

The name was subsequently transferred to fortifications built during the reign of Henry VIII on the east and west banks of the river to dispel a French invasion, referred to as cow-forts or cowes.

The seaport at Cowes was the first stop on English soil before crossing the Atlantic Ocean with many ships loaded with German and Swiss passengers leaving from Rotterdam and going to the New World destination of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

These passengers were going to become British subjects in Colonial America, and the English captains made a written record of the stop in Cowes.

[10] It is believed that the building of an 80-ton, 60-man vessel called Rat o' Wight[11] on the banks of the river Medina in 1589 for the use of Queen Elizabeth I sowed the seed for Cowes to grow into a world-renowned centre of boatbuilding.

It was not until the reign of keen sailor George IV that the stage was set for the heyday of Cowes as 'The Yachting Capital of the World.'

In 1826 the Royal Yacht Squadron organised a three-day regatta for the first time and the next year the king signified his approval of the event by presenting a cup to mark the occasion.

[12] In Cowes the 18th-century house of Westbourne was home to a collector of customs whose son, born there in 1795, lived to become Dr Thomas Arnold, headmaster of Rugby School.

During an air raid of World War II on 4/5 May 1942, the local defences had been fortuitously augmented by the Polish destroyer Błyskawica (itself built by J. Samuel White in East Cowes), which put up such a determined defence that, in 2002, the crew's courage was honoured by a local commemoration lasting several days to mark the 60th anniversary of the event.

The population of the town increases dramatically during Cowes Week, the busiest time of the year for local businesses.

There are a number of cafes and restaurants, including a coffee shop called PO41, despite the post code for Cowes being PO31.

Travellers to Southampton are served by a high speed catamaran passenger ferry from Cowes known as the Red Jet.

[21] The park and ride scheme for Cowes was launched in 2004 as part of a joint venture between the Isle of Wight Council, Southern Vectis and Red Funnel.

During the first few weeks of operation, before any Southern Vectis routes stopped at the park and ride, a temporary shuttle service was put in place, subsidised by Red Funnel, with a 15-minute frequency timed around morning and evening peaks.

[22] To begin with, the scheme suffered with a huge lack in the number of people using the service, receiving no passengers in its first few days of operation.

This was due to a rise in costs and substantial cut in payments for free travel by the Isle of Wight Council.

The council have been told that members of the public are leaving their valuables inside cars at the site, which could be targeted by thieves.