I am planning on walking this in 2 days with a couple of mates…yes walking ( sorry).

Has anyone on here done this route and if so –

-Which is the best way to go round?

-We plan to bivvy out, any recommendations near to a pub?

Cheers

2 days?? Erm.. you may need longer than that. Go anticlockwise and if camping on the Southside find some protection, it gets windy.

Assuming you start from Cowes and go anti clockwise you will get to St Catherines lighthouse at 30 miles. I would camp there and use the pub in the local village. Pretty sure it is the Bugle but could be wrong..

Apologies I should have said –

We plan to start from Ryde..guess the lighthouse would be too far for day one?

Brack, its 60 miles around if I’m right. Lighthouse is on the most southern tip so not doesn’t really matter where you start. Its a tough ask in 2 days I reckon

Having grown up on the Island I would suggest still going anti clockwise because your final leg will be back through Bembridge and Seaview. I would also suggest you will need more than a couple of days.

Is there a more skeenic side to the island and if so would this be best left for the final day.

Weve given ourselves a big task I know..but 2 days it is.

We had a couple of supporters tackle it over 3 days:

lap of IoW

I used to work on the island and a colleague did it in 24 hours non stop for charity.

He took a week off work to recover.

60 miles is for cycling. Nearer 80 for the coastal path.

Scenic.. it’s all scenic… depends on what you like really.. Wild, Open,Windswept on the S/West-South Shore from Neadles all the way to Ventnor, Rural, rustic (except Cowes) on the North Shore, East Shore rolling rural to sandbar heaven around Bembridge.. bit “old skool” buildings which have ooodles of charm, too many local pubs to get hammered in, but then you’ve only given yourselves a couple of days so you’ll be jogging most of it. IMHO Freshwater Bay to St Cat’s is my fave in the main cos no boooooger lives over there. Shame you can’t take the bikes, still you’ll have fun no doubt about that.

More than 80 if you hug the coast. The pub down in Niton is called the Buddle Inn. Great little pub. Good place to bivvy would be somewhere on the cliffs by Rocken End/Blackgang. There is even an abandoned old nudest camp hidden in the trees there on the cliff if you can find it.

If you start at Ryde though perhaps it would be best to Bivvy on the cliff/beach at compton (further west) but only in good weather, there is no shelter although there is a crapper in the beach car park though.

You can walk almost the whole length of the south west side from compton farm to st. catherines on the beach. Only at very extreme low tide can you make it from compton farm to freshwater bay.

If you do that, please take your little home, I don’t like like having to clean up after overners and its my bestest most favourite place in the world 🙂

Im planning on doing this on the bike this year, cheeky or be damned!

The weather is looking good for the week so bivvying out looks a possibility. Looking forward to it now!

How did it go? Weather has been perfect for it too!

Truly superb!!

First bit from Ryde to Cowes was a tad tedious…lots of road, and built up areas. One of the group tore his calf muscle and had a blster the size of a tennis ball. The other struggled with dehydration….

Cheers

Yeah the coastal route from Ryde to Cowes is pretty much non-existent. No rights of way on the coast until you get to Gurnard. Did you manage the whole route in the end?

Bigyinn

The first attempt ( a month ago) ended in Yarmouth as my two walking buddies developed a strong desire for alcohol anaesthesia!

The second attempt was a solo affair… Same anticlockwise direction and same gloriously HOT weather, made Compton Bay on day one and then finished at Ryde at 21.30 hrs the next night.

Bloody goretex trainers were a bad choice as my feet now resemble two bags of blood!

A tough two days!!