WalkWise 3 Night Walking Break HF Freshwater Bay and the Isle of Wight

The Walking Programme:

The Isle of Wight has more footpaths per mile than any other county so we will definitely not be short of walks and options. Our plan is to do full day walks on Sunday and Monday with a shorter walk planned for Tuesday before catching one of the afternoons ferry’s back to the main land. There are numerous walks on the island, each offering something unique and the suggestions below are just highlights of what we may decide to do. Walking on the downs is a real delight with a profusion of wild flowers and views right across the island to the mainland beyond. Not to be missed are visits to the island’s enchanting villages, such as Calbourne, Godshill and Shorwell, with their picture-postcard thatched cottages and peaceful rural ambience. Another fabulous aspect to the Isle of Wight is the frequent bus services that network the island, We can often use these services to provide opt out points to the walks thereby giving people the opportunity to leave the walks at various point.

As with all coastal locations we will keep the days a flexible and tailor the walks as best as we can to the weather. Freshwater Bay lies at the foot of the famous white cliffs and offers excellent walking from the doorstep and on the best day we will walk out directly from the house and onto the Downs behind. Here the lush chalk downs are separated from the rich Mediterranean blue waters by the dramatic towering white cliffs. These stunning views accompany us as we make our way over beautiful Tennyson Down which has the unusual feature of having dual aspect coastal views!. These rolling Downs make for excellent walking and lead eventually to the famous Needles. After taking in the views and exploring the bunkers we will then make our way around the coast to the multi coloured Alum Bay where we’ll get views across the South Chanel to the mainland. We can then Make our way over Warren Head and across to Totland, where there is a lovely café on the pier. The coast is then followed through Fort Victoria and Fort Albert before we reach Yarmouth, which itself is worthy of exploration. We can then follow the River Yar back across the island to Freshwater and eventually back to the hotel. This stunning and very varied walk must be one of the nicest and most varied walk on the island. It is also a very flexible walk as it can be curtailed in many of the villages; Alum Bay, Totland and Yarmouth, all of which we pass through where a bus can be taken back to the hotel.

Another cracking walk goes east from the hotel across Freshwater Bay itself and ascends east over Compton Down, which is another broad and open chalk down with stunning coastal views to the south and open views of the heart of the island to the North. In fact on a clear day you can see back across to the mainland too. After crossing the Down we then skirt through the woodlands of Brook House before seeking out the Long Stone. From here we can continue onwards through the red squirrel sanctuary to visit the lovely village of Brightstone. Once again the walk can be curtailed here, but for those that wish we can continue onto the coast. Here the coastline is much softer and we can follow the gentle cliff top path back to freshwater. Once again this is another very flexible walk and can adapted in distance as there are a number of villages on the bus routes and the coast path parallels the coast road along which the bus follows

The Isle of Wight has so many excellent walks, and choosing them will probably come down to the weather. But the southern tip of the island is St Catherine’s point and this is another of my favorite walk. It is possible to make a linear walk back along the coast all the way to freshwater, however its also nice to do a circuit, or even a figure of 8 walk from here where taking in some of the bays, the headland as well as St Catherine’s Oratory, Blackgang and St Catherine’s Down before finishing with a pint in Niton.  And yet another of my favorite walks takes in Carisbrook Castle and the picturesque village of Shorwell. Again this walk can be made as a linear returning over the Downs to Freshwater Bay or you can cove the high ridges of the island in a lovely circular walk. 

To allow you to choose a walk that suits you best, WalkWise UK will provide a professional and knowledgeable guides for the 3 days of walking. To allow you to choose a walk that suits you best, WalkWise UK aim to provide two walks on each day, led by professional and knowledgeable walking guides. Our plan is to offer an easier walk of 7-9 miles and a longer walk 10-12 miles with a bit more climbing. Please note that all the walks have options to curtail should you so wish. However if number do not permit, we may reduce this to one grade, which we will ensure has opt outs and extensions to all more flexibility. All walks are weather dependent and own transport or coaches may be taken to the walk starts.