Shanklin to Yaverland

After two nights at the Newport Premier Inn, and three nights in a cottage near Yarmouth, I'd moved on to my final accommodation for this little holiday on the Isle of Wight, "The Lodge", an extremely comfortable and spacious annex to the owners' house on the outskirts of Shanklin. I'd had a day off from walking yesterday in order to meet up with my niece and her new husband, and the weather had been wet this morning, so I'd taken the opportunity to catch up on work and pop out for some shopping. Now, the sun was shining, and it was time to get out exploring again. I started by working down into Shanklin and finding the house where my sister lived for a few years. Then I went in search of the coastal path.

I'd originally planned to catch the bus to Ventnor and walk back towards Shanklin, but I'd discovered that although the road from Ventnor to Shanklin has reopened following a major landslip, most footpaths in the area remain closed. My revised plan was to  start near Shanklin Chine, at the south of the village, and then walk north, as close to the coast as possible, through Shanklin and Sandown. The footpath south of here is definitely closed at present, and Shanklin Chine was also closed, but a slope took me down to the beach  at the bottom of the chine. The coastal path is actually signposted as running on the top of the cliff, but having got down to the beach, I decided to see how far I could get at this lower level. I set off along the beach; it was glorious!

I left the beach and continued along the Esplanade, past the Clock Tower, the Pier Apron and the Shanklin Cliff Lift. Up to Hope Hill, the vehicular route up to a higher level, I was confident that walking below the cliff rather than on top of it would be OK. If there was a vehicular route, there must also be a way I could go!. However, at Hope Hill, I was less sure.  Beyond the point at which the road headed uphill, there was a car park and a sailing club, but the route of any onward path that didn't involve climbing to the top of the cliff was unclear. I noticed a path past the sailing club and I took this, and my optimism increased when I noticed people coming  towards me. I stopped two women and asked there was a way through to Sandown along here. Yes, they said, and it passed plenty of cafes.  That's my sort of path!  Soon I was on a promenade beneath the cliff.

From time to time there were rows of beach huts and there were indeed cafes, though I didn't stop at any. I just wanted an ice cream, not a meal, and having discovered the lovely produce from the Isle of Wight Ice Cream Company, I didn't want a boring Walls ice cream; none of the cafes seemed to offer quite what I wanted. However, I did stop at the first toilet I reached that was open and didn't need 20p to access (I'm happy enough to pay 20p, but I didn't have any change with me). I realised that I was in Lake. I knew that there was a place called Lake on the Isle of Wight, I'd changed buses here on a previous visit, but I hadn't thought it was anywhere near the coast. This is indeed the same place, with Lake Station (on the little Ryde Pier Head to Shanklin line) and the junction of the main road to Ryde and the main line to Newport in the village at the top of the cliff.

I continued along the promenade to Sandown and somewhere along here, the official coastal path route joined mine. Sandown is definitely a tourist resot with some - to my eye - rather unattractive buildings. However, after passing the pier, there was nothing in the way of  our view to Culver Down and, below the down, the red and white cliffs of Culver Cliff. The cliff had been in sight all the time I was walking, but I was much closer now. Meanwhile, to the right, the beach continued. On the way out of Sandown, a digger was moving the sand around. I'd decided to continue to Yaverland, where the road veers away from the coast, because there's a car park here  (at SZ612850) which I could maybe use on the next leg (I didn't!). The "attractions" continued, with the Wildheart Animal Santuary on the opposite side of the coastal road, but after Sandown, the beach was very quiet. Just as I reached my destination, two women were heading towards the sea in swimsuits. They're braver than me in going swimming in the sea in March, but it was nice to see them.

I reached the bus stop, but the number 8 bus is only hourly and I had a while to wait for the next bus. It would probably have been quicker to walk back to Sandown, but the cafe at the entrance to the car park, which was unexpectedly open, sold Isle of Wight Ice Cream Co. icecreams, and I didn't resist te temptation! The number 8 bus took me back to Sandown where - after another wait - I caught the number 2, which took me through Shankln and up the A3020 to a bus stop just a few minutes walk from where I was staying.

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