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Explore the Isle of Wight

Walking

Within an area of just 147 square miles (3,800 hectares) the Isle of Wight has over 500 miles of carefully maintained and well signposted rights of way. On your travels, leafy lanes wind their way through green valleys, meadows, forest, over downland to the coast. Choose from an extensive range of maps, guides and leaflets available from Tourist Information Centres of join one of the many guided walks held throughout the year.

Cycling

Follow a 62 mile route through some of the Isle of Wight's best scenery. Mainly using quieter lanes, the route is well signposted with a white bike (clockwise), and a blue bike (anticlockwise). For a more demanding ride use the many bridleways and byways. Many accommodation providers offer cycle storage if you want to bring your own bike or you can hire a bike here on the Island.

Sailing

With the Isle of Wight known as the home of yachting, there are plenty of opportunities to get involved on the water. There are sailing events throughout the year including the world famous Cowes Week and Round the Island Yacht Race.

Horseriding

There are wonderful opportunities to explore the Island's vast network of bridleways, some of which have been in use since the Stone Age. Enjoy the panoramic views from these high tracks used by drovers, horsemen and carters, long before our present roads were built or a take leisurely ride through ancient woodlands and sweet-scented meadows.

Public Transport

Leave your car at home and help reduce traffic congestion, pollution and protect the environment. Buses reach all corners of the Isle of Wight and you often get an interesting perspective of the countryside from the top deck of a bus. Trains connect passenger ferries at Ryde with Sandown and Shanklin. Stops along the way include a connection with the Isle of Wight Steam Railway.

Heritage Coast

There are two stretches of Heritage Coast covering nearly half of the Isle of Wight's 60 mile (97km) coastline, which can be explored or admired from land or sea. Heritage Coast status is only applied to coastlines of the highest quality in England and Wales.

The Tennyson Heritage Coast extends from St Lawrence to Totland Bay along the Island's southern coastline. This wild open coastline of fossil-rich sediments culminates in the towering chalk cliffs at Freshwater Bay. Beyond this are the famous Needles rocks and the multi-coloured sandstone cliffs of Alum Bay. This coast is very accessible with the Military Road alongside and a clifftop footpath following its entire length.

The Hamstead Heritage Coast on the Solent side in contrast, comprises the wooded coastal slopes of Bouldnor Forest, the shallow, drowned estuary of the Newtown River and the pasture-fringed bay of Thorness.