The Southeast Isle of Wight: The Wee, the Twee and the Wowee

The Isle of Wight has a character all of its own, and the rugged south of the island ('The Back') doubly so. The climate is almost subtropical, so glasshouse plants proliferate and bloom outside. The local sandstone is also distinct and so the cottages and churches look more like Dorset than Hampshire. The Wee: The retro Godshill Model Village, with the places we'll be seeing meticulously miniaturised. The Twee: The model village and the cottages orné of Shanklin Old Village - twee, but enjoyably so. The Wowee: The prettiest villages on the island (Godshill and Shanklin Old Village), the highest hill and best view likewise (St Boniface Down) and the most wonderful natural feature (Shanklin Chine). (Plus, the 'aah factor': we'll drop in on the freebie Isle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary!)

The sights:

The Isle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary: The website states: 'The Isle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary has 113 donkeys, 1 mule and 22 ponies, all of whom are either rescued or abandoned. They are given a ‘forever home’ in 55 acres of countryside in the Wroxall valley where they get first class care and welfare.' Admission is free but a donation is welcome. 

Godshill: The show village of the island with its mellow church tower rising above immaculate thatched cottages. All Saints Church, mostly 15th-century, perched on a hilltop. Spacious interior adorned with some notable features: Medieval wall-painting of Christ on a 'lily cross' - one of only two in Europe; C18 monuments to the Worsleys of Appuldurcombe; big painting of Daniel in the Lions' Den, perhaps by Rubens.

Godshill Model Village: The tourist traps of Godshill and Shanklin Old Village reproduced at 1/10th scale. 'You can find all of our houses, cottages, churches and pubs in real life for a proper Gulliver [or Godzilla (Godshilla?)-suited] experience! Our models are fantastic replicas of these real buildings, made with sand and cement so they weather as they age. We even thatch them just like the real thing' (the website). The abundant conifers, trimmed to maintain scale, are equally notable. £6.50 to enter. We'll take the recommended 45 minutes to explore it over lunch, but if it's not your thing, you're welcome to go to the pub or explore the village and miss this quintessentially English piece of quirkiness.

Appuldurcombe House: The shell of a large and very fine C18 baroque mansion, built 1702-1740 for the Worsley family by John James. Requisitioned by the military and bombed by enemy action in 1943 and left a ruin. Managed by English Heritage. Freemantle Arch, 1770s, perhaps by James Wyatt. We won't be entering the house, just seeing the exterior. 

St Boniface Down and Bonchurch Down: Chalk hills rising to 241 metres, the island's highest point, In 1940 the radar station was bombed by Stukas, a scene reconstructed in the film The Battle of Britain. Ecologically a rare juxtaposition of calcareous downland and acid grassland-heathland with acid-loving gorse, heather, bell heather and bilberry meeting alkaline-loving juniper and box. The cap of gravel supports a forest of holm oak. The views, south to the sea and north over the island to the mainland are truly stupendous.

The Landslip and The Devil's Chimney: The Devil's Chimney is a scenic cleft in the lower greensand rock near Luccombe. It is narrow and requires many steps down to negotiate it. The Landslip itself is a local nature reserve.

Shanklin: A popular seaside resort with an esplanade lined with hotels and cafes and a sandy beach occupying a broad bay. The pier was lost in a storm in 1987.

Shanklin Old Village: A picturesque cluster of old cottages and Victorian cottages ornés, mostly now cafes, restaurants and touristy shops. 

Shanklin Chine: 'Chine' is a local term for a coastal ravine. Shanklin Chine contains waterfalls, trees and lush vegetation, with footpaths and walkways allowing access. Red squirrels are being supported and a section of PLUTO (PipeLine Under The Ocean), installed to supply petrol for the D-Day Landings, is visible. The Chine costs £6.95 to enter and doing so is optional.

Island Line Railway: Newly refurbished London Underground Class 484 trains (converted from D-78 stock) serve on the Island Line network. These replaced the 82-year-old Class 483 trains from 1938 that served on the island for 32 years until 2020. With luck, we'll have the lovely Lee Pringle driving our train (or better still, having a colleague of his drive it so he can join us!).

Wightlink catamarans: HSC Wight Ryder I and HSC Wight Ryder II are high-speed craft in service from 2009. The sun deck makes the sea crossing great fun.

The route (please click the link to the Ordnance Survey website to see the ascents and descents):

Shanklin's streets will soon give way to countryside via a converted railway line out to Lower Hyde and beyond. At Winstone Farm we'll leave the old railway and head west to the Donkey Sanctuary. Hitting the Stenbury Trail, we'll go into Godshill where we'll have just over an hour to see the model village and church and have lunch. Footpaths and the Worsley Trail will take us south and east out of Godshill to Appuldurcombe House. Footpaths and Rew Lane will then take us to Wroxall Down via Homelands Pit Farm. We'll cross Wroxall Down out to the antennae and then descend St Boniface Down and Bonchurch Down, heading towards the sea at The Landslip. Following the coastal path past the Devil's Chimney we'll head north past Luccombe Village and finally reach Shanklin where an option is to descend Shanklin Chine before returning to the station to go back to Ryde.

Dogs:

Dogs are very welcome on all my walks and this walk has plenty of open countryside and few lanes. However, it is quite long and hilly and may be too demanding for them in hot weather. A dog off the lead must be obedient. 

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(Picture credits: Bonchurch Down, Ventnor: Photo © Lewis Clarke (cc-by-sa/2.0); Luccombe Down, Ventnor: Photo © Lewis Clarke (cc-by-sa/2.0); National Cycle Route 23: Photo © N Chadwick (cc-by-sa/2.0); Donkey Paddocks: Photo © Chris McAuley (cc-by-sa/2.0); Postcard view of Godshill: Photo © Andy Stephenson (cc-by-sa/2.0); Godshill Model Village 12, Model of the parish church 3: Photo © Michael Garlick (cc-by-sa/2.0); Shanklin Chine: Photo © John Webber (cc-by-sa/2.0); Godshill High Street: Photo © Michael Garlick (cc-by-sa/2.0); Appuldurcombe House: Photo © Philip Halling (cc-by-sa/2.0); Gate on Luccombe Down: Photo © Philip Halling (cc-by-sa/2.0); Ventnor, Bonchurch Down: Photo © Lewis Clarke (cc-by-sa/2.0); Lower Entrance to the Devil's Chimney: Photo © Paul Coueslant (cc-by-sa/2.0); Luccombe Village with Culver Cliff and the mainland beyond: Photo © Paul Coueslant (cc-by-sa/2.0); Shanklin, Shanklin Chine: Photo © Lewis Clarke (cc-by-sa/2.0); Old Village, Shanklin, Isle of Wight: Photo © Christine Matthews (cc-by-sa/2.0); The images are copyrighted but are above credited to their copyright holders and are licensed for further reuse under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0).)