Introducing the New OS Pathfinder
Are you looking for inspiration for walking routes on the Isle of Wight? Explore 28 of the best Isle of Wight walks, carefully curated by walking and hiking expert Fiona Barltrop.
Fiona Barltrop is a freelance outdoor writer and photographer who has been contributing to outdoor/walking magazines for many years. She is also the author a number of walking books, the latest being our fantastic new Pathfinder Guide to the Isle of Wight. A must have if you are visiting this beautiful island and looking to see all it has to offer.
How did you feel to be chosen as author and expert for Isle of Wight?
I was pleased to be asked by the Pathfinder Guides publisher’s editor if I would be interested in taking on this new project. I have worked with the editor, Kevin Freeborn, for some years now, both as author of a few books in the OS Short Walks Made Easy series, as well as updating several Pathfinder Guides. So it was good to be able to write a new Pathfinder title of my own, and indeed, supply all my own photographs for it, too. Although I was already very familiar with the Isle of Wight (and had had walks published in magazines), it was rewarding to research new routes for the book and learn more about the Island (as it is known locally) in doing so.
Can you tell us a little about your passion for Isle of Wight and the area and how it came about?
My first experience of the Isle of Wight was as a teenager, when I took part in an all-night sail around the Island, as part of the RYA (Royal Yachting Association)’s Competent Crew course. About a decade later I circumvented the Island again, but this time on foot – much my preferred method of locomotion! For over a dozen years now, I have visited quite regularly, the ferry crossings of the Solent adding to the pleasure of the trips. I confess I have yet to try the quicker catamaran and hovercraft services that also link the mainland to the Isle of Wight, but always enjoy the time on the water – and the fine views – that the excellent Wightlink ferries provide!
Despite its modest size the Isle of Wight has a remarkably diverse landscape, with over half of it designated as a National Landscape (formerly an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). The diamond-shaped island, which measures approximately 23 miles (37km) from east to west and 13 miles (21km) from north to south, encompasses a wealth of varied and unspoilt scenery from dramatic cliffs and rolling chalk downland to peaceful river estuaries, woodland and farmland. It also has an excellent network of over 500 miles of footpaths and bridleways.
Can you give some advice to beginner hikers thinking about visiting this area for the first time, which route do you think would be best to start with and why?
The Isle of Wight is ideal for novice walkers, with a good choice of easy, gentle walks, including ones along the Coastal Path, which is very straightforward to navigate, of course. The waymarking is also very good, and the footpaths, bridleways and byways are mostly well signed and maintained. The Island couldn’t be easier to get to with over 200 car ferry crossings a day from Portsmouth, Southampton and Lymington, all of which have train stations. There are also catamaran and hovercraft services.
And it’s easy to get around without a car with both a very good bus service, and a train service, too. As well as year round bus services, there are also highly scenic seasonal ones such as the Needles Breezer and Island Coaster. Most of the walks in the book can be reached by public transport. For those visiting from the mainland as foot passengers, it’s easy to undertake the walks as day trips, either stepping straight off the ferry (or catamaran) and starting walking or catching a bus to the start.
For day-trippers, a good short family-friendly walk is number 8, an easy linear route on pavements, surfaced paths/tracks and country lanes linking Ryde and Fishbourne. Wightlink operates a fast passenger-only catamaran between Portsmouth and Ryde Pier and car ferries between Fishbourne and Portsmouth. Peaceful Quarr Abbey can be explored on the way, too. A longer, but much recommended walk, which again can be undertaken as a day trip from the mainland, is number 20, a coast-to-coast walk between Yarmouth and Freshwater. A shorter option from Yarmouth is a circuit along the coast through interesting Fort Victoria Country Park (walk number 2). Of the three, no 20, which is just over 7 miles, but easy-going and mostly level, would be my first choice.
Can you choose your top 3 routes from the book and tell us why they are special to you
Walk 28: West Wight Circular
Although the longest route in the book at 13¾ miles (22km), this grand finale of a walk links together sections of previous walks to encircle the western tip of the Island. As well as taking in its most famous sight, the iconic Needles, and the multi-coloured sand cliffs of Alum Bay, it also takes you past the various Victorian forts and along the airy downland beloved by Tennyson. And it includes the stretch of coastline between Colwell Bay and Alum Bay taking in the National Trust’s Headon Warren, which affords great views.
Walk 24: Brighstone and Mottistone
Starting from the pretty village of Brighstone, the outward leg of this route takes in a stretch of the Tennyson Trail, which runs along the top of the chalk ridge that forms the Island’s spine, providing superb views. The walk then descends to the village of Mottistone, home to the National Trust’s Mottistone Manor and its delightful gardens. On the way down the Long Stone, an ancient monument, is passed. The return leg follows a section of the Coastal Path, before heading back inland to Brighstone.
Walk 14: The Pepperpot, St Catherine’s Down and Niton and Walk 15 Niton, St Catherine’s Point and Blackgang
Combining the two walks makes a most rewarding longer route round the most southerly point of the Isle of Wight taking in a stunning stretch of coastline and wonderful views, as well as two striking hill-top monuments.
If you’re interested in this book find out more in the OS Shop – Isle of Wight Guide Book
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Go to the shopWhere can we learn more about you and follow your adventures online?
I must admit I am not on social media and don’t have my own website, and indeed, I am always behind the camera, not in front! But as a long-time contributor to various outdoor/walking magazines, quite a lot of my work has appeared online – and continues to do so. In particular, as a devotee of coastal walking, many of my articles have been re-published online on both the Wales Coast Path website and the England Coast Path website, where you’ll also find an Isle of Wight walk.
