July 2018

We knew nothing about the Isle of Wight except for the fact of its existence, but for us it was a sufficient reason to go there and find out what it looked like. It was the beginning of-July and we had several free days, so we decided to cycle around the island, hoping it would be as cool as our three days on the Isle of Man. And it totally was.

[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]

As we learnt, the Isle of Wight (also called IoW) is a sort of French Riviera of England. It has been a famous spot for seaside tourism for a long time, the trend having been installed by Queen Victoria, who used to have on the Isle of Wight her Summer Residence – the Osborn House. Indeed, the Isle of Wight has everything needed for a proper seaside weekend, and like any county, it has a lot of picturesque walking and cycling routes.

With all that information, we put our bikes in the train and went down to Portsmouth.

[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]

Getting to the Isle of Wight

There are numerous daily connections Portsmouth-Ryde operated by Hovertravel, Red Funnel and Wightlink. The trip time depends on the transport you choose – the trip by hovercraft being two times faster than a regular ferry (10 min against 22), but also more expensive (£18.50 for a single ticket vs £15.50). There are also services from other departure points, better check directly on the provider’s website. We used the hovercraft on our way to Ryde and the Wightlink ferry to go back to Portsmouth and were very happy with both trips.

[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]

Wightlink ferry

[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]

View on Ryde from the pier

[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]

Ryde the evening of our arrival

Cycling on the Isle of Wight

Fantastic. Overall, this whole trip went much beyond our expectations, but in terms of cycling, it was a truly great place. Even if we were told that the Isle of Wight can get quite touristy, we didn’t feel it at all, all the roads being empty. If July is not the high season, then what is? The island is far from being 100% flat, but we would still rate it as suitable for any levels – as long as you take your time and adjust the speed.

Check out: How to Cycle in the North York Moors

[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]

All three nights we camped in the nature. Totally into the wild with no one around, this whole trip was a great the-last-people-on-Earth experience. All the details of our camping spots and itinerary are marked on the map in the end of the article.

Period: 2-5 July ~ Total distance: 131 km ~ Total ascending elevation: 1 740 m ~ Max. altitude: 172 m

[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]
[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]

Camping under St. Catherine’s Lighthouse

What to See on the Isle of Wight

We will be talking only about the things we saw on our itinerary and the list will begin with…

Beach Huts

Even if the Beach Huts are a compulsory element of any seaside town, on Isle of Wight there are particularly many of them. Of various colors and various shapes, nothing emphasizes the British Sea Holidays atmosphere like them.

Check out: One Day in Brighton: Our Ultimate To Do List

[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]
[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]

Sandown Beach Huts

[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]
[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]

Godshill

In order to see the charming village with straw roofs, we literally made a detour. It is a beautiful place indeed, even though it lacks an infrastructure for the pedestrians. Godshill is a major destination for the group tours, particularly for the elderly visitors, so probably coming during earlier morning hours would help avoiding the crowds.

[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]
[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]

St. Catherine’s Lighthouse

Imagine a beautiful lighthouse and a golden sunset. Imagine you put your tent there and sleep feeling the light gliding above your head accompanied by the noise of the sea. It’s love, isn’t it?

[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]
[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]
[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]
[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]
[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]
[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]

All About the Dinosaurs

Did you know that Isle of Wight is one of the places of Europe with the biggest number of dinosaur discoveries? That fact gave to the Isle of Wight the name of the Dinosaur Island as well as a number of dinosaur-related attractions including the fossil tours. We accidently bumped into one of them on the South-West coast and were happy to participate in the fossil search (we found none).

[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]
[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]

View From Freshwater Bay

A beautiful spot for a pause with a view on the chalk cliffs.

[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]
[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]

The Needles

It is an iconic nature landscape with a row of chalk cliffs and a lighthouse. It was quite tough to get to the viewing platform by bicycle and moreover, we had no luck with the weather – the cliffs were hidden in a cloud of fog. Even in such conditions it was beautiful.

[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]
[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]
[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]
[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]
[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]
[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]

Yarmouth

A typical British town with pubs and tearooms. A bit of civilization for two wild cyclists!

[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]

Newtown National Nature Reserve

We passed it through, but the nature is drastically different with the dominating bogs. If you are a birdwatcher, this is a place for you.

[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]
[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]

Cowes

A beautiful town with aristocratic touch where everything is about yachting. East Cowes is the place where Osborn House is situated.

[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]
[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]
[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]
[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]

Osborn House

The former royal residence, where Queen Victoria used to spend summer with her family. Today it is part of English Heritage and is open for the visitors. As we had the membership card and the entrance for us was free, we didn’t want to miss such a spot and didn’t regret it for a second. The house is splendid with an excellent educative part – we learnt a lot about the Queen and her relationship with her late husband Albert.

[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]
[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]
[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]
[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]

Why We Loved Isle of Wight

Despite the warnings about how touristy the island can be, we enjoyed an absolute freedom. Empty roads, empty natural landmarks and empty beaches – it was an amazing detox trip. It was a big surprise to discover some Mediterranean notes – as I mentioned in the intro, the IoW does feel like French Riviera. Honestly, this view could have been as easily taken in Saint-Tropez.

[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]
[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]

Many British Seaside towns suffered a big decline of tourists since the low cost flights abroad became available, which could only help the stereotype about British weather grow. We said it many times, but I am okay with repeating once again: it is not true. The water around the Isle of Wight was so warm that we could stay in water for hours – and that was exactly what we did. Ventnor beach is LOVE.

[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]
[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]
[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]
[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]
[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]
[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]

Riding here was a pure aesthetic pleasure – beautiful typical houses in a harmony with nature, friendly people, and delicious scones. Honestly, what else one needs to be happy?

[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]
[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]
[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]
[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]

Our Restaurant Recommendations

The Seaview Hotel. A cozy hotel / restaurant bar in beautiful blue tones and delicious food.

[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]
[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]
[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]
[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]

The Spyglass Inn – a true pub the way we love it with a splendid view over the sea.

[:en]Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise[:fr]Île de Wight à vélo : 3 jours au paradis[:]

Our Itinerary

Don’t forget that you can open the map with all the details in a full screen by clicking on the “full screen” button.

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Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise
Isle of Wight by Bicycle: 3 Days in Paradise

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