For our first British getaway week-end since we sold our car, we chose the Isle of Wight delighted by the idea of cycling its 65 miles of coast in a place we could easily reach by public transportation. The weather was definitely on our side, the skies were as blue as the sea and the 3 days spent cycling, hiking and eating ice cream were a delight. Learn more about a week-end destination to put on your list.
Cycling 110km around the Isle of wight
Start and Finish: Ventnor, but as it is a loop you can start from pretty much anywhere around the island. many people start from Cowes.
Distance: 110km | Duration: 6h30min (depending on fitness) | Difficulty: challenging
Every year, Isle of Wight organises a free cycling festival called Isle of Wight Randonnee. It is a fun cycling event leading all around the island in one day. Though we ended up not taking part “officially” (we were a bit far off one of the check point, meaning we would have had to cycle an extra 20km to officially finish the challenge!), nothing prevents you from the cycling the route on that day anyway. It made it a bit more special as there were lots of cyclists around and the route was marked – no need for GPS!
Mandatory picture stop on Military Road, at the top of a long climb!
Coming from London, we found the roads quiet and safe, perfect for a ride. This is a fairly challenging route, with some steep climbs (and a few good descents!) but it is really rewarding especially on a nice day as it is beautiful and varied: overlooking the sea, passing villages, going through the countryside.
This was the beginning of the season and I was not really fit, we took our time and finished in a total of 6h20 (5h30 moving time). We only took short breaks to eat and drink. Carry enough food and water (we stopped to buy more water as it was so hot that day!).
It is amazing to see how far you can go in one day. I enjoyed the day very much and found it really rewarding. As it is easily accessible from London, we will definitely be back to cycle around the island, maybe anticlockwise that time to vary it.
Many people come just for the day to cycle Isle of Wight Randonnee, but why not extend your visit to the full week-end as we did: we didn’t regret it, Isle of Wight is a stunning place to visit.
Check all the official cycling map here . If you want to officially take part in Isle of Wight Randonnee, the next one is planned Sunday 3rd May 2020!
A beautiful day hike by the sea side from Brading to Ventnor
Start: Brading bus stop (route 2 or 3) Finish: Ventnor bus stop
Distance: 14-15km | Duration: around 3h30 | Difficulty: moderate | Accessible by public transport
On the Costal Path, overlooking Sandown
The first 15min are not the most enjoyable as you have to walk on the road to reach the coastal path at Culver cliff (see below map) where you have a beautiful view over the all Sandown bay. From there follow the signs “Coastal Path”.
The most beautiful part of the hike is probably from Shanklin to Ventnor. It smells sun cream and ice cream and you walk along the cute beach huts. The sun is shining and people are relaxing under their sun umbrellas but it’s the beginning of May and the sea temperature is just about double digits. We go for a quick highly refreshing dip before enjoying our pack lunch. If you don’t want to bring your lunch, there are plenty of places to eat along the way.
After walking by the sea, the path climbs up and gets us on a top of the ridge about 100m high, don’t miss out the bench for a nice view of the bay. The end of the walk goes through a small forest and passes by Bonchurch old church from the 11th century before leading back down on the coast outside of Ventnor.
You just have to follow the coast to arrive in the centre of Ventnor and grab one of the island bus.
Hiking the full Isle of Wight Coastal Path should be an amazing challenge which should take everything between a day (for the ones running the ultra race hosted every year) to a week if you want to go at a more leisure pace. If you are interested, lost of information can be found on this website.
How to get to Isle of Wight
Public transportation: 2h30 from London, no need for a car! My recommended option, more sustainable travel and less hectic!
Train: From Waterloo, Southwestern Railway runs direct train to Portsmouth harbour at least every hour. It takes between 1h40 and 2h. Prices vary but by booking a few weeks ahead you can probably score a return for around 45GBP. We were surprised to be able to benefit from an added discount as we were travelling as a group (3 people). You can take your bike on the train provided it is not peak hour and that there is space (more details on Southwestern Railway website)
Wightlink ferries runs frequent pedestrian ferry service FastCat between Portsmouth Harbour station to Ryde on the island. It cost around 15GBP per person one way and you can take bikes on the ferry for free. Family tickets are also available. The crossing takes only 22min.
Getting around on the Isle of Wight is easy thanks to a great network of buses ; or you can do like us and bring your bike!
If you are coming by car, there are other ferry services
Where to stay
We enjoyed to stay in Ventnor which was more quiet than some other towns with big beaches like Shanklin, but still had bus connection (for my mum who didn’t had a bike) and some restaurants. We rented a super cute tiny boat house on Airbnb and woke up, had breakfast and barbecued with a fabulous view of the sea and the sound of the waves. I sat there on the decking unplugging, looking at the sea. We went for a dip just outside the cabin and meet the locals who swim there almost all year around. This was a really nice treat!
Good to know: lots of restaurants are closed on Sunday evening in Ventnor. We ate at the Spy Glass, a big pub with a fantastic setting, a big terrasse and a large menu. It can get crowded on week-ends so just be patient!
If you liked this article, you may enjoy more ideas for getaway week-ends in England: cycling in Yorkshire, hiking in the Peak District, in Snowdonia or on the South Downs Way.
