Barbara and Margaret go to the Isle of Wight

Another year and another long distance path. This time the coastal path around the Isle of Wight.

We set off from Harden at 07.49 and reached Old Church House B&B in Newport at 15.30 having travelled by bus, train, underground, train, ferry and bus, all on time. The B&B was conveniently situated 5 minutes walk from the bus station and 3 minutes from The Man in the Moon a Wetherspoons pub which we grew to love!

Although not on the coast, the capital Newport was the obvious place to stay as all the buses started and finished there so it was easy to get to the start and from the finish of our walks. We were very impressed with the bus service and the time table that covered all the services. There were one or two interesting buildings,

The Guild Hall

St Thomas Church

and of course all the usual shops and supermarkets.
We had our evening meal in the Bargemen's Rest down by the quay and then an early night as travelling is much more tiring than walking!

Day 1 Ryde to Sandown 12 miles

After a nice cooked breakfast we took the bus to Ryde for the start of our walk. We decided to go clockwise around the island as we were using a guide book that did the walk in that direction. If anyone is inspired to do this walk you can borrow the book. I also had some printed sheets of walk details that were kindly provided via Facebook by Les Allen. These were very detailed even counting the number of stiles on each day's walk. Thank you Les, they were very useful.

There was a classic car rally in Ryde which we spent a few minutes exploring

before setting off along the promenade,

passing Appley Tower.

We largely followed the coastal path signs except for a stretch along the beach which finished with a scramble over the rocks at Node's Point before arriving at the site of St Helen's Church.

'A' party walk on the wall!

Node's Point

A brief stop here before crossing the causeway built in 1878 and onwards towards Bembridge.

House Boats

They like their boats here. We passed a row of houseboats some of which you could stay in. Even the pub is boat shaped. After this we turned off down some leafy lanes and passed many large properties with gardens going down to the beach. We were still on the coastal path but couldn't see much of the sea until we had to go down on to the sand for a short stretch leading to the old lifeboat station on Bembridge Pier. This was a good place to stop for lunch and consult the map.

After lunch we climbed up on to Culver Down and the monument erected in 1849 in the memory of the Earl of Yarborough. Perhaps of more interest than the monument was a kiosk selling drinks, snacks and ice cream!

The walk continued along the cliff tops with wonderful views behind of the cliffs and monument, and in front of Sandown, our final destination of the day.

A fine way to end a very varied day with a paddle followed by fish and chips sitting on the promenade while we waited for the bus back to Newport.