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Ventnor to Godshill via Appuldurcombe House walk

A downs walk via a ruined mansion to a picturesque village

Isle of Wight

History

This is a list of previous times this walk has been done by the club (since Jan 2010). For more recent events (since April 2015), full details are shown.

Date Option Post # Weather
Fri, 14-Jun-24 Isle of Wight weekend 14th June 2024 to 17th Jun 2024 20 sunshine
Sun, 16-Jul-23 Ventnor to Godshill [Isle of Wight weekend] 18 fairly windy and fairly bright
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Southwestern have now released their travel tickets for 14th June to 17th June.

Friday 14th June 24 : A walk on the downs starting at Shanklin, incorporating Shanklin Down, Luccombe Down, Bonchurch Down and Boniface Down. Ending in Ventnor with frequent buses back to Shanklin if people opt to stay there.

Travel: Take the 10.30 Portsmouth Harbour train from London Waterloo

Arrives Portsmouth & Southsea 11:57

Bus departs Portsmouth & Southsea at 12:10

Arrives Southsea Hoverport at 12:20

depart Southsea Hoverport at 12:30

Arrives Ryde Hoverport arrives at 12:40

Walk to Ryde Esplanade station 17 minutes

Train departs Ryde Esplanade at 13:13

Arrives Shanklin station at 13:37

Ticket type : buy a return ticket to Shanklin.

Meet at Shanklin railway station and start the walk towards Ventnor. It will be the Lake to Shanklin walk in reverse. See here for GPX track and full details of the walk here. You will need a picnic for this walk.

Or Option 2 : If you wish to have lunch in Shanklin, please use the same GPX route to go down to the seafront or to the town centre to have lunch, or a swim and then getting back onto the main walk route to Ventnor by following the track along the Worsley trail here

Saturday 15th June 2024 : A beautiful walk from Chale to Ventnor with spectacular cliff top views over the sea taking in the annual Round the Island Yacht race. This walk was devised by Sylvia Cummins, a regular SWC walker who died in October 2022.

Meet at Boots, Ventnor for the 10.05 No 6 bus. This is a 2 hourly bus so please don’t miss. Arrives Chale Church at 10.41.

Lunch: Buddle Inn, Niton, Bookings are highly recommended – book online or call 01983 730243.

Swimming possible on the beautiful beach at Rocken End, which is reached by a steep walk down. This is a good spot for a picnic as is basically anywhere along this route.

For walk details and GPX see here

Sunday 16th June 24 : Ventnor to Godshill stopping for a picnic lunch in the grounds of the remains of Appuldercombe House.

Meet outside Boots , Ventnor at 10.30am where we start the walk.

Length Length: 12.6 km (7.9 miles). Toughness: 6 out of 10. Some steep bits but nice views.

Map Walk: There are no written directions for this walk, only a GPS route.

For GPS: t=swc.410 Please note however, that once you have explored Appuldercombe house and gardens, make your way back to the main gate, and either retrace your route or take the path on the right for a small but attractive diversion.

Features

The walk will take us along St Boniface Down and then a climb up the very steep path to Bonchurch Down, across Wroxall Down and past the Radio Station viewpoint. The walk then takes you across Stenbury Down and into the grounds of Appuldurcombe House. After looking around the hollowed-out rooms and possibly picnicking in the grounds we will walk into Godshill village for tea and cakes. After that you can return by bus to Ventnor or Shanklin or walk back.

Return Buses from Godshill Hollies :

No.2 to Shanklin (15 minutes) or Ryde (1 hour). These leave at around xx:11 & xx:41;

No.3 to Ventnor (20 minutes), Shanklin (40 minutes) or Ryde (1 hour 20 minutes). These leave at around xx:23 & xx:53 last bus 15.23

Monday 17th June 24 Option 1 Walk from Shanklin chine, along the seafront to Brading Station, where you can catch the Island Line train to Ryde Pier. The walk is around 10 miles. The full walk skirts around under Bembridge Down with its Fort (you can divert up to this if you have time) and then through Brading Marshes nature Reserve and so into the historic town of Brading. This is a map led walk, but you keep the sea to your right until you turn off towards Brading. Find the map here

Plenty of eating and drinking spots along the seafront, and swimming opportunities weather permitting. The walk can be shortened by cutting away from the beach to either Lake station, or Sandown station. GPX route can be found here: Please note, the walk poster has not walked this route yet.

Meet at the Fisherman’s Cottage pub, right on Shanklin beach by the mouth of Shanklin Chine at 10.30

Option 2: If you prefer a relaxing morning and afternoon, then a visit to the Isle of Wight Botanical Gardens just outside Ventnor would be a restful and rewarding experience. This is a truly delightful garden with rare and exotic plants and trees, and its micro climate averages around 5 degrees warmer than the rest of UK. More information can be found here: https://www.botanic.co.uk/about/

There is a café and a restaurant in the gardens.

How to get there: Head west and up Church Street – along Belgrave Road – down Park Avenue – then Steephill Road – onto Undercliff Drive – turn left into the main entrance. Approx. 10-15min walk. Due to landslips, I am not sure whether you can walk along the coastal path heading west from Ventnor to the gardens.

Tropical Garden Tickets: £11

Accomodation on the Isle of Wight: Ventnor is the best town to stay in for the planned walks. If you cannot get accommodation in Ventnor then Shanklin would be a good alternative. The No. 3 bus connects Shanklin and Ventnor which are close together.


  • Wed, 05-Jun-24

    Walkers may wish to check out thisshort but sobering TV programme on coastal erosion on the south coast of the Isle of Wight - an area where some of us have walked. It’s about the collapse of part of the coast around Bonchurch and Luccombe on 10th December 2023 ‘when 14 million cubic metres of rock and earth slipped away overnight.’ You can see ‘Crumbling into the sea – the Isle of Wight from above’ on BBC iplayer https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001zpdr/from-above-coastal-erosion

  • Thu, 13-Jun-24

    Is there a WhatsApp group? Please could you add me, as would be great coordinate meeting up. Thanks.

  • Mon, 17-Jun-24

    Friday 14th June 2024 Shanklin to Ventnor

    20 gathered in Shanklin in sunshine at around 2pm. People joined the route at various points along the downs. Lovely panoramic views. We did walk t=369 in reverse, from Shanklin to Ventnor over Shanklin Down and St. Boniface Down. Most ate at the iconic Spyglass Inn that evening.

    The countryside throughout this weekend has been a beautiful vibrant green, with buttercup meadows, vibrant orchids, gorgeous woods.

    Saturday 15th June 2024 Chale to Ventnor walk. 27 gathered in very windy but sunny weather on this lovely walk designed by Sylvia Cummins. We were joined on the walk by 5 members of Sylvia’s family and saw the much reduced round the island boat race being lashed by waves as we walked along the cliff top. Only two people braved the massive crashing waves on the seashore. Lunched at the Buddle Inn and most walked back to Ventnor. Due to another landslip in St. Lawrence, we did a diversion (actually two options for the diversion) and the GPX will be updated to reflect this. One diversion was through an amazing wood which felt almost primeval.

    Sunday 16th June 2024: Ventnor to Godshill via Appuldercombe House. T=410. 16 on this walk in sunny and warm but breezy weather. We all had lunch in the grounds of the house. Two diverted to the Donkey Sanctuary, but most had tea/beer in Godshill and buses back to Shanklin or Ventnor.

    Monday 17th June 2024 Walk to Brading or a visit to Tropical Gardens.

    3 visited the Tropical Gardens on the undercliff in Ventnor. 6 took a bus to Shanklin and had a lovely swim there. Then walked onto Brading along the seafront, skirting around Bembridge Down and into Brading and then onwards to the big smoke.

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Length: 12.6 km (7.9 miles).

Toughness: 6 out of 10. Some steep bits but nice views.

Map Walk: There are no written directions for this walk, only a GPS route.
For GPS: t=swc.410

Features

The walk will take us along St Boniface Down and then a climb up the very steep path to Bonchurch Down, across Wroxall Down and past the Radio Station viewpoint. The walk then takes you across Stenbury Down and into the grounds of Appuldurcombe House. After looking around the hollowed-out rooms and possibly picnicking in the grounds we will walk into Godshill village for tea. After that you can return by bus to Ventnor or Shanklin or walk back.

Travel

Start at the Bus Stop by the Central Car Park, High Street, Ventnor at 10.30am.

Return Buses from Godshill Hollies:

  • No.2 to Shanklin (15 minutes) or Ryde (1 hour). These leave at around xx:06 & xx:36; last bus 18:05 Sun, 18:35 Mon–Sat.
  • No.3 to Ventnor (20 minutes), Shanklin (40 minutes) or Ryde (1 hour 20 minutes). These leave at around xx:23 & xx:53 to late evening, then hourly.

Eating

Lunch: There is nowhere to buy any food on this route until Godshill village, so please bring a picnic which can be eaten in the grounds and parkland of Appuldurcombe House. Note that there are no toilets in the house or grounds.

Tea: There are plenty of tearooms and pubs in Godshill Village.

Points of Interest

Appuldurcombe House: This early 18th century house was the seat of the Worsley family, and once the greatest house on the Isle of Wight built in the English Baroque style. Sir Richard Worsley, the 7th baronet, gained notoriety for a 1782 court case in which his wife, Seymour, admitted to having had 27 lovers. The house is now just a shell, and you can walk through the rooms which have information boards. House and Grounds are free.

Godshill Village: A very picturesque village with a medieval church, thatched-roofed cottages and a winding main street lined with traditional tearooms and pubs. There is also a famous Model Village.

  • Sun, 16-Jul-23

    Only four assembled at the appointed time for this walk. Were we losing our enthusiasm? But no, it turned out others were hiding at the other end of the car park. In the end a large group set off - 18 I am I informed by the Whips office.

    The weather was fairly windy and fairly bright . That is to say a tad less windy than yesterday but not quite as sunny. The walk was an interesting introduction to the inland part of the Isle of Wight, which one often misses on coastal holidays.

    First a walk through a holm oak wood (wayward descendants of trees planted by the Victorians to make Ventnor look more Mediterranean…), then a vertical assault on the south face of the Eiger (aka Bonchurch Down). Then downland scenery with gorgeous views, crossing from one ridge to another and walking along the top to an obelisk, a monument to some aristocrat we were supposed to remember but whom we have forgotten.

    One might surmise that the locals are not great ramblers, because some short sections of the path were heavily overgrown (but this would not be such an issue at other seasons of the year). Up on top of the down a long hedgerow sheltered zillions of excitable gatekeeper and meadow brown butterflies - nice to see such abundance.

    Two or three may have had off piste pub lunches in Wroxall. The rest of us picnicked by the ruined Apuldurcombe House, whose roofless rooms were interesting to explore. We then carried on to Godshill, where the group splintered. Some got buses to Ryde to go back to London, some probably had tea and some drinks. I ended up with a takeaway tea on a bench by the bus stop. Two got off the bus to visit a donkey sanctuary.

    Five of us returned to Ventnor where three of us did what we had been aching to do all weekend: go for a swim in the sea. The waves were no longer mountainous, but candidly this was still not a safe sea. Even going out only about 30 metres the swim back to the shore seemed to take a long time. But the water temperature was gorgeous and it felt good to get a dip in finally, however brief.