WALKING ON THE ISLE OF WIGHT About the Author WALKING ON Paul Curtis left the world of office administration to write this guidebook, having enjoyed writing a popular blog about a 2008 solo cycling trip from THE ISLE OF WIGHT Boston to San Diego. He loves travelling, particularly long-distance hik- by Paul Curtis ing and cycling, and enjoys getting away to as many wonderful places as possible in his free time. He fell in love with the Isle of Wight on his first visit in 2008, and returned periodically to walk there before making it his home in 2011. In addition to his US adventure, Paul has cycled from Amsterdam to Sarandë in Albania and from Calais to Istanbul, hiked across Switzerland and has completed several long-distance walking trails in the UK including the North Downs Way, the Thames Path and the Hertfordshire Way. He has designed a South of England figure of eight walk, stretching from Dover to Land’s End and centred on Windsor. He is a solo, romantic explorer in the Wainwright tradition and believes that guidebooks should first and foremost be about finding the most beautiful routes and providing precise, accurate descriptions. Paul lives and works on the Isle of Wight. JUNIPER HOUSE, MURLEY MOSS, OXENHOLME ROAD, KENDAL, CUMBRIA LA9 7RL www.cicerone.co.uk © Paul Curtis 2017 CONTENTS Second edition 2017 ISBN: 978 1 85284 873 6 Map key ...................................................... 6 Reprinted 2020 (with updates) Overview map ................................................. 7 First edition 2013 INTRODUCTION .............................................. 9 Printed by KHL Printing, Singapore Geography and landscape ....................................... 10 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A potted history ............................................... 13 Modern society ................................................ 17 Principal locations ............................................. 19 © Crown copyright OS PU100012932 Wildlife ..................................................... 27 All photographs are by the author unless otherwise stated. When to go .................................................. 28 Getting to the island ............................................ 29 Getting around ................................................ 30 Accommodation ............................................... 32 Acknowledgements What to take .................................................. 33 Thanks to the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust for their advice on the Safety ....................................................... 33 Wildlife section of this guide. The countryside ............................................... 34 Walking in groups ............................................. 35 Walking with children .......................................... 35 For my friend Ruth Using this guide ............................................... 35 COASTAL PATH ............................................... 37 Updates to this Guide South coast .................................................. 39 Walk 1 Sandown to Ventnor ................................... 39 While every effort is made by our authors to ensure the accuracy of guide- Walk 2 Ventnor to Chale ...................................... 44 books as they go to print, changes can occur during the lifetime of an edi- Walk 3 Chale to Brook ....................................... 49 tion. Any updates that we know of for this guide will be on the Cicerone Walk 4 Brook to Alum Bay .................................... 53 website (www.cicerone.co.uk/873/updates), so please check before plan- North coast .................................................. 59 ning your trip. We also advise that you check information about such Walk 5 Alum Bay to Yarmouth .................................. 59 things as transport, accommodation and shops locally. Even rights of way Walk 6 Yarmouth to Shalfleet .................................. 63 can be altered over time. We are always grateful for information about any Walk 7 Shalfleet to East Cowes ................................. 67 discrepancies between a guidebook and the facts on the ground, sent by Walk 8 East Cowes to Ryde .................................... 72 email to [email protected] or by post to Cicerone, Juniper House, Walk 9 Ryde to Sandown ..................................... 78 Murley Moss, Oxenholme Road, Kendal, LA9 7RL. Register your book: To sign up to receive free updates, special offers WEST WIGHT ................................................ 87 and GPX files where available, register your book at www.cicerone.co.uk. Walk 10 Shorwell circular ...................................... 88 Walk 11 Shorwell to Niton ..................................... 93 Walk 12 Brighstone circular .................................... 99 Front cover: The Needles (Walk 4) Walk 13 Brighstone to Yarmouth ................................ 104 WALKING ON THE ISLE OF WIGHT OVERVIEW MAP Walk 14 Best of eastern Freshwater (circular) ...................... 109 Walk 15 Best of western Freshwater (circular) ...................... 115 Walk 16 Shalfleet and Newtown circular ......................... 121 Walk 17 Shalfleet to Newport .................................. 126 5 Walk 18 Gatcombe to Newport ................................ 133 Walk 19 Tennyson Trail ....................................... 138 Foreland Bembridge EAST WIGHT ................................................ 143 PR3 Walk 20 Shanklin circular via Nettlecombe ....................... 144 23 Portsmouth Seaview Walk 21 Shanklin circular via Bonchurch ......................... 153 map Overview 22 Walk 22 Shanklin circular via America Wood ...................... 158 27 21 Sandown Walk 23 Shanklin to Godshill .................................. 162 Ryde Shanklin 26 Walk 24 Niton circular (the two lighthouses walk) .................. 165 25 20 PR2 9 1 A32 Gosport Walk 25 Ashey Station circular ................................. 170 t 2 n Walk 26 Ryde to Ventnor ...................................... 175 le o Walk 27 Seaview circular ..................................... 184 Ashey Station S 28 e Walk 28 Wootton Bridge circular ............................... 191 entnor 29 h V Walk 29 Wootton Bridge to Newport ............................ 196 T Wootton Bridge Wootton Godshill to/from 0 Walk 30 Bembridge Trail ...................................... 201 02 8 30 3 Southampton Niton Newport A 24 Walk 31 Worsley Trail ........................................ 209 PR1 A27 WIGHT ISLE OF Walk 32 Shorwell to Brading ................................... 216 18 3 s ’ 11 19 Cowes Appendix A Gatcombe Route summary table .............................. 224 10 32 Appendix B Chale 13 Useful contacts ................................... 228 Point 31 Carisbrooke 12 St Catherine A3054 Shorwell 17 7 Brighstone 16 4 Route symbols on OS map extracts Features on the overview map Shalfleet 55 (for OS legend see printed OS maps) 10km 14 Brook A30 route Urban area 5mile 6 armouth Freshwater Y start/finish point Area of Outstanding Natural ymington L Beauty/National Scenic Area 15 start point N finish point 5 foot passenger route: Southampton–Cowes catamaran foot passenger route: Portsmouth–Ryde catamaran foot passenger route: Southsea–Ryde hovercraft Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty 400m car ferry route alternative start/finish point Bay 200m Alum A337 75m 0 0 PR1 PR2 PR3 route direction 0m The Needles 6 7 WALKING ON THE ISLE OF WIGHT INTRODUCTION It is surprising that, in spite of the Isle Nearly half the island is a desig- of Wight’s beauty and elegance, this nated Area of Outstanding Natural peaceful and perfect-sized island is Beauty, but this is misleading as often dismissed simply as a place to go almost the entire island can rightly for a long weekend or somewhere to be called beautiful. There are jaw- send children on school trips. Perhaps dropping views such as those from the it is because many visitors tend not to magnificent coastline of West Wight, penetrate the island beyond the resorts St Boniface, Culver and Brading and the tourist attractions. But those Downs, St Catherine’s Point and the with curiosity are likely to fall in love Needles. And there is also a gentler, with this place; its variety of scenery more intimate beauty at countless and understated aesthetic qualities locations unknown even by many are appreciated most by those on foot, islanders, such as remote Newtown with almost everywhere being accessi- Harbour, an ‘undiscovered’ balcony ble courtesy of the green buses which trail near Gatcombe, and even the stand out on the landscape. The Isle of scenic path linking urban Carisbrooke Wight is made for walking! and Newport. Cliffs near Ventnor (Walk 2) Yaverland cliffs (Walk 9) 8 9 WALKING ON THE ISLE OF WIGHT GEOGRAPHY AND LANDSCAPE The island’s default scenery is overused term, but definitely appli- coasts the open sea seems endless; But it is the downland that really graceful, undulating downland, very cable in this case. This is not just the eye looks towards France but makes the island great, and it is attractive to the eye, and if you walk because of the consistently attractive, never sees it. thoroughly explored in these walks. in any direction for up to 5 miles varied scenery and preponderance There are, in effect, eight towns There can be said to be three major you would almost certainly glimpse of footpaths, but also because of a on the island: Yarmouth, Cowes, East stretches: from Newport east to the the sea. Tree-lovers