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ISLE OF WIGHT
Views of Ventnor walking trail
Enjoy far-reaching views of the downs and the English Channel, as well as a rich blend of wildlife, on this short but challenging walk on the
south side of the Isle of Wight.
Information
Address: Ventnor Down National Trust car park, off
Down Lane, Ventnor, Isle of Wight.
OS map: Landranger 196, Explorer OL29
Activity: Walking
Challenging: Hilly, grassy terrain. For further details,
see Terrain section.
Dog friendly: Dogs are welcome but please keep them
on a lead around wildlife and livestock, and take any
dog waste home with you.
Full trail: Miles: 2.5 (km: 4)
Access: Challenging
Duration: 1 hour 15 mins - 1 hour 45 mins
Terrain
Total ascent is 200m (660ft). This short but hilly route
is mostly on grassy paths, including some of the
steepest on the island. It can be slippery in wet
weather.
Total steps: 6
Start point: Ventnor Downs car park, grid ref: SZ565784
1. From the Dakota plane crash information panel at the back of the car park, follow the
path around the perimeter of Ventnor Radar Station, keeping the fence on your left.
Just before the gate, turn right by a tall mast signposted V1. After 45yds (40m), go
through the kissing gate and bear left, taking the ridge-top path towards Ventnor. This
is one of the many gates designed to keep the downs' feral goats in their enclosure.
The path eventually drops very steeply with a series of steps. Go through the goat gate
at the bottom, where there is an information panel about Coombe Bottom. Continue
through the copse, including two flights of concrete steps.
2. When you reach the industrial estate, the site of the old Ventnor railway station, turn
left. At the main road, turn left again and walk 380yds (350m) along the pavement on
the right-hand side of Mitchell Avenue. Just past Ventnor Bowling Club, take the path
into the woods on the left, signed V110.
3. Follow the path along the bottom edge of the wood overlooking the tennis courts.
Don't go through the kissing gate into Bishop's Acre but bear left up the hill, with the
livestock fence on your immediate right. After a short distance, the fence turns and
goes down, but our path continues to rise straight ahead. At the junction, take the left
fork up the hill.
4. Go through the goat gate to emerge onto open downland. Follow the contouring path
for about 600yds (550m) across the lower slopes of St Boniface Down. This is the
best area to see chalk grassland flowers and butterflies.
5. Just below an isolated clump of trees on an exposed flank of the hill, a path with steps
joins from the road below and you can see a crescent of houses close to the sea. Turn
left here and climb straight up the down, passing a clump of trees. The path is very
steep but becomes better defined higher up the hill. You may feel it's more suited to
goats than people. Near the top of the hill there's a bench and an information panel.
6. Go through the goat gate and up the hill. Follow the signpost V113 for 50yds (45m),
where it meets a crossing track with a view of Sandown Bay ahead. Turn left along the
crossing track to a disused parking area. Walk along the access track leaving the open
ground, turn right through a gate signed V43, then quickly left again in 20yds (18m) to
follow a grassy track that runs parallel to the road. Return to the car park by turning left
opposite a wartime shelter.
End point: Ventnor Downs car park, grid ref: SZ565784