With more than 500 miles of footpaths, bridleways, cycle tracks and byways, the Isle of Wight is the perfect location for walkers, cyclists and runners looking to explore the countryside and coast alike whilst relaxing on an island escape.
There is an extensive network of rights of way which criss cross the island and its landscape, including the 68 mile coastal path that circles the island and provides fantastic views across the picturesque coastline. With routes galore to pick from and events for all tastes throughout the year, there is something for everyone.
Routes
Shanklin is well connected to the network with a number of key routes starting and running through the town. We’ll start with the big hitters, the coastal path and the Red Squirrel Trail.
As its name suggestions, the Isle of Wight coastal path (which now forms part of the King Charles III England Coast Path) runs along the coastline of Shanklin, connecting to Lake and Sandown in the north and Luccombe, Bonchurch and Ventnor in the south. The route can be distinguished by the blue Coastal Path finger boards on key junctions with a seagull on the board and an acorn sign on top of the post. From the north, the route runs in from the seafront revetment as part of The Bay Promenade and continues along until the bottom of Shanklin Chine, where you will go up Chine Hill to reach the cliff top, through Tower Cottage Gardens to the Old Village, past the top of the chine in Chine Hollow and then along the cliff top through to Luccombe and beyond in the south. As an alternative, you can also skip the seafront revetment and take the cliff top route from Sandown. Both of these routes are suitable for walking and running with the cyclist friendly section covered below as part of The Red Squirrel Trail
The Red Squirrel Trail is a 32 mile cycle route across the island, mainly on the old railway line. Most of the route also forms part of Walk Wheel Cycle Trust’s National Cycle Network route 23 (route 22 also pops onto the island, running from Ryde to Newport). In the bay, there are two routes that join at Merstone and then continue through to Newport and then Cowes. One route goes from Sandown through Alverstone, Newchurch and Horringford and the other from Shanklin through Wroxall and Godshill. These two routes are connected together by taking a short road through Shanklin and Sandown towns to reach The Bay Promenade (as mentioned above), which creates the sunshine loop and allows you to enjoy the countryside views of the old railways line along with the coastline view of the coastal path. In Shanklin, the route through to Wroxall can be picked up at Lower Hyde holiday park near Shanklin station and the connection to Sandown can be picked up on the seafront at Small Hope Beach. Whilst aimed at cyclists, all the routes are suitable for walking and running too!
Beyond these two, there are also a number of other walking and running routes available to explore. We’ve grouped them together and put a run down below:
- America Wood, Ninham and Lower Hyde: Available to explore either as a loop or in parts, you can enter into Woodland Trust’s America Wood to see the 21.4 hectare wood and explore under the canopy before coming out past the solar farm and making your way round to Ninham, a small farming hamlet surrounding a large pond and then travel back to Shanklin via the byways backing onto Landguard and Lower Hyde holiday parks. Keep an eye out for bluebells in America Wood in late spring. America Wood and Ninham can get muddy during wet weather, but the byways by the holiday parks are suitable for all weather (including cyclists) and also good for popping to the shops at Morrisons and Aldi in Lake.
- Worsley Trail, Manor Road and Westhill: All located right next to our location at Shanklin Manor, the Worsley Trail is a 20 mile route from Shanklin through to Wroxall, Sainham, Godshill, Shorell and Brighstone, taking in plenty of countryside, woodlands and historic sights. The route starts at St Blasius Church – walk through the churchyard to the back to get started. For a shorter walk, you can also take in Manor Road and Westhill, which takes you through the parkland in the area and past Shanklin and Godshill Cricket Club or back to town behind Big Mead.
- Shanklin Down: Accessed via St Blasius as well, you can make your way up through Cliff Copse and fields to the top of Shanklin Down to see a fantastic view across Sandown Bay. From here, you can continue along to National Trust’s Ventnor Downs for more views and a cow or two.
- Holme Copse, Anne’s Wood and Greatwood Copse: All three of these locations are owned by the Shanklin estate and mainly permissive paths. Starting on Westhill Road, you can go through Holme Copse, which is a developing woodland planted in 2003/4, before reaching a junction with the Worsley Trail. From there, you can go into Anne’s Wood, a denser wood which connected you to SS9, which can take you up to Shanklin Down. There are further permissive paths that take you through Greatwood Copse, home to the source of Shanklin Chine, and pop you out next to the layby on Cowleaze Hill. In late spring, Greatwood Copse is a sea of wild garlic, so get your camera out and take a snap!
- Sibden Hill and Batts Copse Nature Reserves: Sibden Hill is split into two, a wood at the top and a large sloping grass area below. From the top, you get a fantastic view over the bay. Connected to it is Batts Copse, which runs along the edge of the brook with a tree canopy over the paths. You can use this route to connect you to the Red Squirrel Trail, as the exits are close to the trail.
- Old Church Lane: A very short walk but a useful shortcut to get from Shanklin Manor and St Blasius to the coastal path towards Luccombe or Rylstone Gardens and vice versa. Once you’ve crossed the road from St Blasius, follow the pavement towards Ventnor slightly and you’ll see on your left a short stone wall, which is the start of the lane. The wall is believed to date back to the Second World War and features loopholes, where soldiers would be placed to protect Shanklin. The lane, which is footpath SS91, runs behind the old Upper Chine school buildings, which was used by Royal Marine commandos during the war. Keep an eye out for the resident donkeys and other animals in the fields!
A bonus route is the Charles Dickens Trail, a heritage route taking in the start of the Worsley Trail and going up to Shanklin Downs before heading off towards Ventnor, all with the aim of exploring acclaimed writer Charles’ island haunts. Maps are available in your apartment or via visitisleofwight.co.uk. Keep an eye out for other heritage and themed walks across the island, such as Time Travel Ventnor and the Armada Coast, also in Ventnor.
| Top Tip For cyclists (or walkers and runners) looking for something a bit different, check out the Undercliff Quiet Route. Running from Ventnor to Niton via St Lawrence, the route runs along a selection of no through roads (hence the quiet name!) and takes you to/near Ventnor Botanic Gardens, St Lawrence Parish Church, Castlehaven, St Catherine’s Lighthouse, the Buddle Inn and Old Blackgang Road. |
We also have our Car Free Holiday guide, which has details on how you can walk, cycle or run to a selection of the island’s attractions.
Events
If you are looking for a big challenge, either for fun or for charity, the island has a plethora of mass participation events throughout the year to take part in.
For walking, we’ve got one of UK’s biggest walking festivals, the Isle of Wight Walking Festival, which has now been running for over 25 years. It has expanded in recent years to offer two editions per year, spring in May and autumn in October, giving even more opportunities to take part. Around 200 different walks are offered to thousands of walks each year. Whilst some walks are purely for the landscape, others incorporate history, nature and more, providing a varied selection of walks to pick and choose from.
The spring edition includes the long running Walk The Wight, which has been raising funds for local hospice, Mountbatten, for over 30 years. Two different routes are available, the main walk from Bembridge in the east to Alum Bay in the west, which can be done as a full walk of 26 miles or one of the two halves (12 miles from Bembridge or 14 miles from Newport), and also the flat walk, which offers an 8 mile walk along the Red Squirrel Trail cycle track between Sandown and Newport.
For cycling, the Isle of Wight Randonee sees 3000 riders take to the island’s road and tracks over the the Sunday of the first May bank holiday weekend. Free to enter (though a donation is appreciated), it follows the 100km Round the Island cycle route. A smaller 55km route, aimed at families, is also offered on the National Cycle Network route 23 and roads across the north eastern quarter of the island.
For running, the island’s biggest event is the Isle of Wight Challenge, part of the Ultra Challenge series and run on the first May bank holiday weekend. The event offers routes from 10km up to a massive 106km, which can be run, jog or even walked. The main route is the 106km, which goes around the island from Chale and can be done continuous through the day and night or in two daytime halves over the weekend. Other routes include first half, second half, quarter and three quarter with new routes added each year. You can self fund or take part on behalf of a charity of your choice.
There is also the Isle of Wight Running Festival, which is mainly in the west of the island and runs a series of events during the summer as well as the winter Chilly Hilly cross country run. If you enjoy fell running, Ryde Harriers organise the Isle of Wight Fell Running Championship Series in September and the Isle of Wight Road Runners offer the Rog Run (in memory of Roger Walker-Reed) in April, all of which are run through the Ventnor area.
Alongside these big events, throughout the year, there is the 5km Parkrun and 2km junior Parkrun. Held at Medina in Newport (though decamping to Ryde during the summer to allow for the Isle of Wight Festival), visitors are always welcome to join in for a fun run on a Saturday morning for Parkrun and Sunday morning for junior Parkrun.
Maps
We’ve got two interactive maps of our own, our Shanklin map and our coastal path map, which have all the key routes on and will help guide you around the island. Alternatively, there are maps available to purchase locally and an OS map available in all of our apartments to borrow during your stay, as well as selected maps and routes
You can find maps of all of the rights of way across the island on the following:
- Isle of Wight Council’s website as both a series of PDFs here as well as a full map here and current diversions here
- Wight Paths for an interactive map at wightpaths.co.uk
Visit Isle of Wight also offer maps for the key walking routes and cycling routes, as well as guides for walking, cycling and running with a selection of routes including family friendly cycling routes and others such as Chalk Ridge Extreme for the adventurist and the Round the Island route.
Facilities
All of our apartments have cycle parking available too and you are welcome to recharge removal e-bike batteries in your apartment via the standard sockets. For your cycling gear, we have washing machines and airers in all of our properties.
Bicycle Hire and Repairs
For hiring, you can visit routefifty7, who are located at Lower Hyde, perfect for travelling on the Red Squirrel Trail to Wroxall or travelling through Shanklin to reach the revetment to Sandown. They offer a range of bicycles and also electric bikes too. You can also hire from Tav Cycles (Ryde), Wight Bike (Merstone) and Wight Cycle Hire (Newport/Yarmouth). In addition to self guided cycling, there is also New Forest Cycling Tours, who can offer guided cycling tours from Yarmouth using your own or hired bicycles.
For repairs, Tav Cycles and Wight Bike also offer these, as well as Al’s Bikes in Sandown and also Island Bikeworks offer a mobile repair service.
Transporting Your Bicycle
Over on our Car Free Holiday guide, you can find out about getting your bicycle to the island via public transport. Alternatively, if you can coming by car, you can also bring your bicycle using a roof or rear bike rack on your car on all of the car ferry routes – don’t forget to adjust your car’s height and length to take into account your rack and bicycles when booking.
Last Updated: 29/19/2025