Isle of Wight Coastal Path: Yarmouth to Freshwater
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Walk directions
From Yarmouth town square, walk west past the ferry terminal, then the harbour office and TIC on your right, to cross the road bridge. Keep ahead along the pavement.
Where the road swings sharp left, take the footpath on the right, signed to Fort Victoria. Turn left to walk along the sea wall, past Norton Grange holiday park, and turn left up into the woods as soon as the wall ends. Bear right at the road. Soon continue ahead here for the fort, toilets and café, or turn left on the woodland track into Fort Victoria Country Park. The wide, straight wooded trail is actually the site of an old military road. Keep straight on at a bench (the footpath to the fort loops back up here). The path rises steadily, passing a carved soldier figure on a bench. Pass a path signed to Sway Tower Viewpoint and keep ahead. Ascend steps to benches and a superb view overlooking Hurst Castle on the mainland.
At a gate by a bungalow follow the enclosed path left and right as it twists and winds. At the lane turn left and follow this down and up through Linstone Chine holiday camp to meet a road by the entrance. Turn right and walk ahead through Bramble Chine holiday chalets. Pass the clubhouse and turn left. Continue down the narrowing path, and at a junction of paths keep ahead. Pass Brambles Farm (right) and continue up the drive to meet the A3054.
Turn right. Take the first turning right, down Madeira Lane. Follow this towards the shore. where the track veers right, keep ahead on the narrow path, descend steps and turn left along the sea wall. Soon, at the slipway, turn up left. Pass The Captain’s Cabin café on the left and take the enclosed footpath opposite. Continue ahead across two roads on the sometimes muddy path and at the end bear right. The path descends behind houses. Go down shallow steps and turn right towards the sea. Turn left and immediately right, to descend steps to Totland pier. Turn left along the sea wall.
Follow this past the Waterfront bar/restaurant. Just beyond the old lifeboat station turn left up steps and a steep path to a road. Turn right along here and follow the winding road up. Just before a timber house on the left, take the footpath right, signed to Alum Bay. Go through a gate and ascend through woodland onto the open heath of Headon Hill. Follow the blue waymarkers to the Bronze Age tumulus at the summit, where you should pause to enjoy the views in all directions; this is the highest point so far, and gives a good view of the interior of the island.
The descent path is steep and eroded, so care is needed. Follow it down through trees and beside a mini-golf course. At the bottom go past a gate and bear left along the drive. Turn right at the road and follow it up through the Needles Park. Beyond the car park, a road leads towards The Needles, the visually dramatic end to the spine of chalk that runs right across the island to Culver Down on the eastern side. Take the track on along the right-hand side, and look back at the multi-coloured sands of Alum Bay to note the contrast between those pastel shades and the stark chalky white of The Needles. For the ultimate view, you can follow this road ahead and pay to enter the Needles Battery, but there are plenty of fine clifftop views to be had without handing over your cash. (A good free viewing area is at the end of the Battery by the Black Knight rocket testing pad.)
About half way along, and take the footpath up the hillside to the left, up steps and over a stile. Zigzag left below the coastguard cottages (now owned by the National Trust) and follow the grassy path east along the top of the down. Go through a gate by a beacon and bear right up the hill to the 500ft (152m) Tennyson Monument. Pause to enjoy the views.
Continue along the cliff top, and enjoy the long, steady descent towards Freshwater. Pass through a gate (keep through the left of the two), and veer right half way down the field, to a gate. Go through and turn left along a drive. Where it meets the road, there is a bus stop to your left. Turn right and walk to Freshwater Bay.
The route follows the Coastal Path (69 miles/111km), which is well signed on the ground with blue signs and a seagull symbol. Constant erosion of the island’s coastline means the path may be rerouted at any point, but this is usually clearly marked. Note that access for dogs to most of the island’s... beaches is restricted in summer. For information about bus links and timetables, see www.islandbuses.info If you enjoy razzmatazz, fairground rides and a liberal dose of shopping for souvenirs, then the Needle Park will be right up your street. From the carousel and the teacup ride to the glass studio and the sweet manufactory, there’s sure to be something that takes your fancy. But what is now a busy tourist location was once an important scientific site. From the clifftop here, Gugliemo Marconi made his first wireless transmissions, and in the 1950s and 1960s the Needles became the site for the development and testing of a top secret space rocket and missile launch project code-named Black Knight. The Needles themselves are the iconic chalk stack which stretch out at the western tip of the Isle of Wight, with a lighthouse at the tip. The light beams out for some 14 miles (22.5km), and dates from 1859, when it replaced an earlier structure at the top of the Downs. This stretch of the Coastal Path takes in the rolling turf of West High Down, topped with a granite memorial to the eminent Victorian, Alfred Lord Tennyson, which acts as a useful seamark for shipping and replaced an earlier beacon on the site. Tennyson lived at Farringford, just inland from Freshwater Bay, for many years, hoping for peace and quiet, but suffering from his superstar status as Poet Laureate. He declared that the clifftop air was worth sixpence a pint, and walked daily on the Downs which eventually took his name. It was the Tennyson connection which brought photographer Julia Margaret Cameron to Freshwater Bay, and you can learn more about her life and work in the house which became a museum to her, Dimbola Lodge.
Small and intimate – at just 23 miles by 13 miles, the Isle of Wight is a popular holiday destination; with its mild climate, long hours of sunshine and colourful architecture, it has something of a continental flavour. Visitors can walk along the island’s varied coastline using the well-established Coast Path or step back in time to explore the island’s history at some of the forts and castles.
Isle of Wight Coastal Path: Yarmouth to Freshwater
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Walk details
4hrs
Difficulty:
Medium
Gradient:
Gentle
Distance:
9 miles (14.5kms)
Ascent:
1250ft (381m)
Walk directions
From Yarmouth town square, walk west past the ferry terminal, then the harbour office and TIC on your right, to cross the road bridge. Keep ahead along the pavement.
1 of 8
Where the road swings sharp left, take the footpath on the right, signed to Fort Victoria. Turn left to walk along the sea wall, past Norton Grange holiday park, and turn left up into the woods as soon as the wall ends. Bear right at the road. Soon continue ahead here for the fort, toilets and café, or turn left on the woodland track into Fort Victoria Country Park. The wide, straight wooded trail is actually the site of an old military road. Keep straight on at a bench (the footpath to the fort loops back up here). The path rises steadily, passing a carved soldier figure on a bench. Pass a path signed to Sway Tower Viewpoint and keep ahead. Ascend steps to benches and a superb view overlooking Hurst Castle on the mainland.
2 of 8
At a gate by a bungalow follow the enclosed path left and right as it twists and winds. At the lane turn left and follow this down and up through Linstone Chine holiday camp to meet a road by the entrance. Turn right and walk ahead through Bramble Chine holiday chalets. Pass the clubhouse and turn left. Continue down the narrowing path, and at a junction of paths keep ahead. Pass Brambles Farm (right) and continue up the drive to meet the A3054.
3 of 8
Turn right. Take the first turning right, down Madeira Lane. Follow this towards the shore. where the track veers right, keep ahead on the narrow path, descend steps and turn left along the sea wall. Soon, at the slipway, turn up left. Pass The Captain’s Cabin café on the left and take the enclosed footpath opposite. Continue ahead across two roads on the sometimes muddy path and at the end bear right. The path descends behind houses. Go down shallow steps and turn right towards the sea. Turn left and immediately right, to descend steps to Totland pier. Turn left along the sea wall.
4 of 8
Follow this past the Waterfront bar/restaurant. Just beyond the old lifeboat station turn left up steps and a steep path to a road. Turn right along here and follow the winding road up. Just before a timber house on the left, take the footpath right, signed to Alum Bay. Go through a gate and ascend through woodland onto the open heath of Headon Hill. Follow the blue waymarkers to the Bronze Age tumulus at the summit, where you should pause to enjoy the views in all directions; this is the highest point so far, and gives a good view of the interior of the island.
5 of 8
The descent path is steep and eroded, so care is needed. Follow it down through trees and beside a mini-golf course. At the bottom go past a gate and bear left along the drive. Turn right at the road and follow it up through the Needles Park. Beyond the car park, a road leads towards The Needles, the visually dramatic end to the spine of chalk that runs right across the island to Culver Down on the eastern side. Take the track on along the right-hand side, and look back at the multi-coloured sands of Alum Bay to note the contrast between those pastel shades and the stark chalky white of The Needles. For the ultimate view, you can follow this road ahead and pay to enter the Needles Battery, but there are plenty of fine clifftop views to be had without handing over your cash. (A good free viewing area is at the end of the Battery by the Black Knight rocket testing pad.)
6 of 8
About half way along, and take the footpath up the hillside to the left, up steps and over a stile. Zigzag left below the coastguard cottages (now owned by the National Trust) and follow the grassy path east along the top of the down. Go through a gate by a beacon and bear right up the hill to the 500ft (152m) Tennyson Monument. Pause to enjoy the views.
7 of 8
Continue along the cliff top, and enjoy the long, steady descent towards Freshwater. Pass through a gate (keep through the left of the two), and veer right half way down the field, to a gate. Go through and turn left along a drive. Where it meets the road, there is a bus stop to your left. Turn right and walk to Freshwater Bay.
The route follows the Coastal Path (69 miles/111km), which is well signed on the ground with blue signs and a seagull symbol. Constant erosion of the island’s coastline means the path may be rerouted at any point, but this is usually clearly marked. Note that access for dogs to most of the island’s... beaches is restricted in summer. For information about bus links and timetables, see www.islandbuses.info If you enjoy razzmatazz, fairground rides and a liberal dose of shopping for souvenirs, then the Needle Park will be right up your street. From the carousel and the teacup ride to the glass studio and the sweet manufactory, there’s sure to be something that takes your fancy. But what is now a busy tourist location was once an important scientific site. From the clifftop here, Gugliemo Marconi made his first wireless transmissions, and in the 1950s and 1960s the Needles became the site for the development and testing of a top secret space rocket and missile launch project code-named Black Knight. The Needles themselves are the iconic chalk stack which stretch out at the western tip of the Isle of Wight, with a lighthouse at the tip. The light beams out for some 14 miles (22.5km), and dates from 1859, when it replaced an earlier structure at the top of the Downs. This stretch of the Coastal Path takes in the rolling turf of West High Down, topped with a granite memorial to the eminent Victorian, Alfred Lord Tennyson, which acts as a useful seamark for shipping and replaced an earlier beacon on the site. Tennyson lived at Farringford, just inland from Freshwater Bay, for many years, hoping for peace and quiet, but suffering from his superstar status as Poet Laureate. He declared that the clifftop air was worth sixpence a pint, and walked daily on the Downs which eventually took his name. It was the Tennyson connection which brought photographer Julia Margaret Cameron to Freshwater Bay, and you can learn more about her life and work in the house which became a museum to her, Dimbola Lodge.
Small and intimate – at just 23 miles by 13 miles, the Isle of Wight is a popular holiday destination; with its mild climate, long hours of sunshine and colourful architecture, it has something of a continental flavour. Visitors can walk along the island’s varied coastline using the well-established Coast Path or step back in time to explore the island’s history at some of the forts and castles.
