We have postponed this walk from 24th June to 8th July to avoid the effects of a train strike.
This is a more demanding hilly walk of close to 9 miles with commanding views over the Island, Solent and mainland. The terrain is grassy paths, a section of steep downhill pavements, a promenade, undulating (sometimes steep) undercliff and quiet lanes. The walk starts and finishes at Shanklin Station. We will take a picnic lunch and eat at The Crab in Shanklin later in the afternoon. There are toilets at Shanklin station, Ventnor sea front and The Crab.
Travel
The plan is to pre-arrange car sharing to ease a parking charge of £12 at the Historic Dockyard car park. We then meet at the Wightlink Fastcat waiting area at the end of Portsmouth Harbour station in good time for the 10.15am sailing. The return fare (at the time of writing) is £18 if purchased at the terminal or a little more if purchased in advance via Ferries Direct. Allow plenty of time if purchasing tickets at the terminal. At Ryde Pier Head we transfer immediately to a waiting train - no time to stop for toilets. The train takes us to Shanklin where there is a toilet. Although tickets (£5 return) can be purchased on the train they can also be bought in advance from Trainline. You may prefer to purchase a through return ticket from Portsmouth Harbour (or Havant) to Shanklin through Trainline.
The return is likely to be on an early evening crossing from Ryde Pier Head.
More details nearer the time