St Helens Duver to Ryde

I was on the Isle of Wight to meet my new great niece, born a fortnight ago, and I'd arranged to do this tomorrow. However, I was staying in Ryde (the opposite side of the Island from Ventnor, where my great niece and her parents live) partly to enable me to continue my walk around the Isle of Wight Coastal Path from the point I'd reached in March, at St Helens Duver (which seems to be correctly spelt without an apostrophe, though I want to put one in...).  To get here this morning, I caught the number 8 bus from Ryde Esplanade. I'd been retired for 10 days and had spent last week in Whitehaven doing family history research, making good use of my bus pass; that was set to continue this week.

I got off the bus near the junction of Embankment Road and Latimer Road (SZ629886) in St Helens, and I walked down Latimer Road and so to the causeway over Bembridge Harbour, retracing my steps towards the National Trust car park at St Helens Duver where I parked last time I was here. I only remembered to set the tracker going from here. The coastal path is signposted to the left along the access track to the car park, but I wanted to see the sea, so I climbed over the dunes to the beautiful beach. I thought it was busy, but relative to the beaches closer to Ryde that I passed later in the day, it was actually quite quiet. To the left (north) was Node's Point, to the right (south), difficult to photograph because of the Sun, was Bembridge Point with the lifeboat station beyond.

I walked along to the ruined tower of the old St Helen's Church, all that remains of a Benedictine priory dedicated to St Helena. The seaward side of the tower in painted white (and apparently has been since 1719) and does double duty as a seamark. From the Old Church, the official route of the coastal path heads inland and uphill, behind Node's Point Holiday Park and, later, the site of the Priory Bay Hotel (once a posh hotel but awaiting redevelopment of some - uncertain - sort since 2016).

I'd bought a copy of the 3rd Edition (2025) of Paul Curtis's Cicerone guide, "Walking the Isle of Wight",  for guidance about sections of path that have been closed (especially between Ventnor and Shanklin).  With reference to today's walk, the guidebook suggests an alternative route from  Old St Helen's Church, rather closer to the coast. This takes you to Priory Bay, which is apparently very beautiful. However the guidebook describes it as a difficult walk (slippery and muddy)  and other sources caution against attempting to walk to Priory Bay along the beach because of the risk of being cut off by the tide. I stuck with the official route!

The path brought me down to the bustling Seagrove Bay, where I turned left and continued close to the sea. There were lots of boats of various sorts bobbing about offshore, with the buildings of Portsmouth, including the iconic Spinnaker Tower, visible beyond. Round Nettlestone Point, I continued along the sea front, now heading west towards Puckpool, but still with lots of offshore activity. There's a park and café at Puckpool Point and I contemplated stopping here for lunch or a cup of tea, but I really just wanted a sandwich and the café looked to be more focused on main meals. I was tempted to buy an ice cream, but in the end just stopped at a bench to change my socks. 

Past the beach huts on Puckpool Point, the distinctive Appley Tower came into view. I have a collection of Lilliput Lane cottages (miniature cottages which are no longer made), and many years ago, when she was living on the Isle of Wight, my late sister Chris bought me the miniature version of Appley Tower, called  ‘The Sandcastle’ by Lilliput Lane. The ‘real’ i.e. full-size tower is a folly, originally called the Watch Tower, and in the grounds of a house called Appley Towers. It was built in 1875 by Sir William Hutt and a later owner entertained King George V and Queen Mary to tea here. The tower was a mystic centre of some sort when I visited with Chris about 20 years ago and, after being closed for 10 years, it seems to be something similar now, offering daily "sound baths". It was closed as I walked past, but it took me some time to get a decent photo because a group of three women were photographing each other from every direction!

There is an expanse of sandy beach in front of Appley Tower, and families were out enjoying this in the sunshine and as I continued along the promenade towards the centre of Ryde, I passed the usual seaside attractions. I heard someone say "there she is" and when I looked in the direction they were pointing, I noticed a dark haired woman being filmed. It was only when I watched the local news in the evening that I realised it was Kemi Badenoch, leader of the opposition.

I passed Ryde Marina and the place where hovercraft from Southsea come ashore. The hovercraft crossing is quick, but they're very noisy.  I reached Ryde's Transport Interchange", where I'd caught the bus from this morning, The little trains of the Island Line (disused tube trains) stop here too, the first stop on the line from the Ryde Pier Head  to Shanklin. I'd caught the train from the Pier Head to the Esplanade yesterday, but it is a pleasant walk down the Pier, on a path kept separate from both cars and railway line. I walked down the Pier later in the day, appreciating why it is the 2nd longest pier in the country (there was sand underneath from much of my walk, and the Wightlink Fast Cat needs to be able to berth at the end) and enjoying a colourful sunset. 

For now, I stopped for a pleasant lunch at PO41, a café at the Esplanade end of the Pier (I discovered in writing up this walk that this branch of PO41 had opened less than a fortnight before I visited) then returned to the Travelodge where I was staying. It had been a pleasant walk, but it was quite a warm day and I wanted a siesta, before setting out on another adventure. 

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