Ventnor to Shanklin

Day 2 of Rambles with Teenagers. There were only nine students today. We were dropped off at Ventnor Botanic Gardens, where teenage wails of "There's no signal" were accompanied by staff guffaws of "Mwahahaha!". However, the portable music speaker was working so we set off accompanied by a better selection of tunes than yesterday. In fact, on the bus Queen was played, and many voices joined in to Bohemian Rhapsody. Jolly.

We left the carpark and right, heading along the main road past the cricket pitch, and down Love Lane. At the bottom we picked up the footpath and headed steeply downhill to Steephill Cove, a lovely little beach full of cafes and tiny shingle and lobster pots. The path led out steeply at the end, and we continued towards Ventnor proper, heading along the cliff to Flowers Brook, up more steps, and then descended to Ventnor esplanade. We pottered along here, walked past the fishery, stopped at the loo, then continued along the revetment to Bonchurch. Interesting fact from the language teacher with me  - 'revetment' in this case doesn't refer to the coastal defences but rather to the Victorian practice of changing for bathing (from the French). I never knew that!

We stopped near the pottery on the seafront for a breather, then set off up some steps into The Landslip. This is a wild woodland area and really rather delightful. It is full of pathways and steps, as well as many trees, ferns, brambles and other wild plants. I had the feeling it hadn't changed much for a hundred years or so. We bypassed the 'Devil's Chimney', and continued through the woods towards Luccombe. There was a thunderstorm last night, so it was very humid in the woods, and we were delighted to plunge out into open air for a while by Luccombe Chine, before heading into more on the final stretch to Shanklin.

The footpath met Luccombe Road so we followed it down to Rhylstone Gardens (another toilet break), and then down steep steps to Shanklin beach, near the chine and the Fisherman's Cottage pub. We continued for a little while longer, and stopped at the Lazy Wave café for lunch. Most of us picnicked, but some bought chips and the staff bought much needed tea and coffee! The last leg of the journey took us along Shanklin Esplanade and Hope Beach, and then up the final steep path to the clifftop and the car park by Winchester House YMCA where we waited for the bus back to school. Another lovely, if rather damp and drizzly, walk.

Route: https://gb.mapometer.com/walking/route_4579407.html
Distance: 6 miles (with lots of steep bits!)

The Landslip

Cliffs near Shanklin Chine

Culver Down from Shanklin Chine

Beach Huts

Ventnor to Orchard Bay

Gorgeous day so a walk was called for. I drove to Ventnor and parked in town, then made my way down the main street towards the beach, passing the Winter Gardens on my left and walking down the slope past some formal gardens. The view across Ventnor Bay was stunning in the June afternoon sunlight; the sea was a glorious shade of blue, contrasting nicely with the golden brown shingle of the beach. The coastal path took me along the esplanade, past cafes and beach huts, and then up past the Spyglass Inn. I continued on up hill to the La Falais car park. The path carried on across turf, and I detoured uphill as I saw a sign for the 'La Falais Outdoor Theatre'; this was a raised patch of turf with a lovely view of the English Channel.

The path continued on, up and down hill, then down a set of wooden steps leading to Flower's Brook. This was a large lawned area, with a small pond and two brooks and lots of flowers. It used to be overlooked by the Victorian Steephill Castle, but this was demolished in the 1960s and all that remains is a wall and parapet around a housing estate.  From here, the path led on Castle Cove, with excellent sea defences but not much beach, and then to the lovely Steephill Cove. This is a beach owned and run by the residents, and is one of the Island's nicest beaches. Not easy to get to so rarely overcrowded. There are several cottages near the beach, all of different styles, one thatched, and all seemingly plonked down at random. Gorgeous!

The path led sharply to the right and uphill at the final ice cream shop, then took a sharp left, then right up a set of concrete steps. Turning left at the top of the steps, the path continued with Ventnor Cricket club behind hedges on the right, and shortly after past Ventnor Botanic Garden, also on the right behind a paling fence. The path at this point was under trees so was nice and shaded from the heat of the sun, which was a bit of a relief. The cliff edge was not far from the path, but was hidden by undergrowth, although there was the occasional gap that gave a vertiginous view to the rocks below! 

I continued along the path as far as Orchard Bay; the path to the bay was temporarily closed, presumably due to landslip, but the view down from the cliff was lovely, and also gave a great view of Orchard Bay House, which was mostly hidden from the main path. There is a house I could live in! I turned back at this point as there wasn't an awful lot of time left on my parking ticket, but instead of going back the way I came I cut across a field, on a footpath, and eventually came out on a farm track which led to the main road, past another thatched cottage and farmhouse. The track came out at the entrance to the village of St Lawrence, so I turned right and headed back to Ventnor. When I came to a turning down footpath V91, I headed down it and came out at Flower's Brook, so followed the coastal path back to Ventnor, stopping for a delicious ice cream on the way. Lovely walk!

Ventnor Bay

Orchard Bay

Route: http://gb.mapometer.com/walking/route_4101227.html  

Distance: 3.6 miles
Footpaths: Coastal Path, V91, V84