Isle of Wight Coast Path

ISLE OF WIGHT

TREK

WALK

Isle of Wight Coast Path – Day Five

Tuesday 08 August 2017

Day Five – Sandown to Ryde

After a good night’s sleep at the hotel and porridge pots for breakfast, we ventured out on to the seafront at Sandown. It was blustery and the clouds in the sky were promising rain. We only had 11.5 miles to cover today but we didn’t want all of them to be in the rain.

It didn’t take long to walk along the flat seawall and we were soon climbing up on to Bembridge Down and then Culver Down.

There is a large monument on Culver Down, the Yarborough Monument, errected as a memorial to Charles Anderson-Pelham, the 2nd Baron Yarborough (later first Earl of Yarborough) founder of the Royal Yacht Squadron at Cowes.

The monument is a 75-foot high granite obelisk which was originally located 3/4 mile away but was moved so that Bembridge Fort could be built on that site. From the monument we had excellent views over Bembridge in front of us and Shanklin behind us.

It was downhill to Bembridge, passing a few caravan sites and holiday parks along the way and then we were diverted inland to avoid a big golfing hotel after which we rejoined the coast at the lifeboat station.

We had now passed the most easterly point of the Island and we were now heading north to Ryde. The wind had fallen to a gentle breeze and we had avoided any rain so far.

We stopped for a snack at Bembridge point, ignoring the interesting looking pub, The Pilot Inn, and instead, making use of a bench with a sea view before continuing around the harbour and across a curious, narrow causeway.

We then made our way up, through some fields and then out on to a small lane which lead to the double entrance of Nodes Point Holiday Village and the Priory Bay Hotel with no obvious sign to show which of these to take.

We checked the Sat-Nav and picked the Priory Bay Hotel entrance which tuned out to be another golf course. About 100m from the entrance we found a wooded path with a waymarker which took us around the hotel and, eventually, down to Seagrove Bay.

We got as far as Nettlestone Point before the rain began to fall. Just as we were turning west towards Ryde. By the time we got to Appley Tower the rain was quite heavy and as we reached Ryde Harbour it was a total downpour. So much so that we took refuge in a small pavilion with some cyclists and waited for the rain to ease a little.

After 10 minutes or so the rain had only eased a little but we decided to continue anyway, knowing that we would get soaked. We made our way to the sign post that indicated the end of the path, as well as the start of the path and took the obligatory photographs while trying to keep the camera dry.

We rewarded ourselves with lunch at the Subway in the high street while dripping water all over their floor. The rain finally stopped giving us the opportunity to walk to the ferry terminal without getting any wetter.

Once we had disembarked from the ferry in Portsmouth, we had a further 3 miles to walk to our hotel and dry out.

Old Mill Ponds Causeway, Bembridge Harbour

The Route

Distance : 14.5 Miles

The best options for buying lunch and snacks for this section are in Sandown although there are cafes, tearooms and pubs along the route. The path leaves Sandown and before long you are on Culver Down with fine views of the path ahead and the route behind. At Bembridge, there is a slight inland section as the Coast Path cuts off a section near Foreland but the OS map does show a path that goes around and meets up with the Coastal Path if you prefer to take it. Check tides times and allow enough time if you do take this 500m alternative. Other than a 50 meter up and down to Nettlestone, the route is flat from Bembridge to Ryde. At St Helens, a narrow causeway is crossed with Bembridge Harbour on one side and Old Mill Ponds on the other.

Click HERE for a GPX file of the route.

David Welch – View Profile

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