Back of the Wight

In a previous post, I describe the Six Ferries ride around the Solent, which finishes with the segment from Yarmouth to Ryde on the Isle of Wight. Otherwise, I have frequently visited the island as a regular tourist, and have done some short cycle rides there, but never enough to merit a blog. I thought it was about time I explored the island by bike more thoroughly. I started with this ride over to the 'Back of the Wight', the area in the south west of the island, bounded by the range of chalk downs stretching from St Catherine's Point to Freshwater. More specifically, my goal was to traverse these downs.

I decided to take the ferry from Southampton to East Cowes. I parked in the NCP Portland Terrace car park, which offers an 'early bird' rate of £4.80 for the whole day if you park before 9am, comparing favourably with the official ferry 'Triangle' car park at £26 per day! It was a short ride down to the Red Funnel ferry terminal where I bought a senior day return for £11, and took the 9am sailing, disembarking in East Cowes at around 10am. (NB Bikes are not carried on the fast 'Red Jet' passenger service, so you must take the slower car ferry: but that makes it more of an adventure.)

You wheel your bike onto the lower deck

Queen Mary 2 was in port

Big Solent skies

Passing Cowes Marina

The GPS track of my Island cycle ride is here. (This route is shown in blue. I have also included later rides on the same map, in maroon and orange.)

Knowing the Island roads can be very busy, I tried to follow traffic free paths and back roads.

I used the 'floating bridge' to reach the West side of the Medina (£1.50 return): the new ferry now seems to be running normally after a troubled start

I took the 'Red Squirrel Way', a v pleasant disused railway, to get south of the busy Cowes-Newport area.

Medina estuary

I left the railway path at Blackwater, and took country lanes to Gatcombe, then began my traverse of the chalk downs by climbing to the giant TV mast on Chillerton Down.

Classic picture-postcard IOW

View back towards Solent. The track up is quite steep in places: I was not too proud to walk.

Bridleway along top of Chillerton Down

Track approaching giant TV mast

Those are some guy ropes!

Concrete track descending West from the TV mast

Instead of sticking to the concrete track I branched off on another bridleway: bad move

I then just carried on along the downs.

Track ascending Limerstone Down

Limerstone is a popular paragliding spot

Limerstone summit pillar

Gate to Mottistone Down

Cresting the top of Mottistone Down; track up Brook Down in distance

Looking back East from the dazzling white track up Brook Down

Freshwater Bay from Compton Down

Freshwater Bay golf course

View North over the Solent

Track descending golf course

Freshwater Bay

After a tea stop in Freshwater, I returned to Cowes via the Yar railway path and back roads, which were generally quiet and pleasant, except that the final run from Little Whitehouse through Rew Street and down to Gurnard had some fast traffic. The finish along the sea front road beside the Solent from Gurnard to West Cowes was very quiet in the early evening.