Round The Island Isle of Wight Multistage Ultra

Round the Island Recce April 2010

In the pouring rain on Good Friday – Anna, Joe and Neil, with Lisa driving the support vehicle headed off to recce the Isle of Wight Coastal path route.

The route on the north side of the island from East Cowes starts on road before winding its way to the coast at Ryde. It stays very close to or on the coast until it heads inland after the stunning views from Seaview sea front, and along to Bembridge Harbour where the route goes across a causeway through the harbour. A beautiful spot, and the rain had stopped by then so we were drying out. When we got into Bembridge we had a brief delay due to the support vehicle breaking down !! So while we waited for the RAC we used the time effectively in the local pub having a drink and lunch !

After lunch and when the vehicle was going again we headed up the hill to Bembridge Point and the wonderful views right along the south coast of England and right across the channel. The route got very muddy and undulating at this point which made the going slow. Once we got to the monument at the top of Bembridge Down we had to pause to just take in the views. From hear we could see the north side of the island, Portsmouth, Brighton, St Catherines pretty much a 360 degree panorama.  We also know that from here on for at least 5 miles we would be heading down hill and onto the flat of Sandown / Shanklin and Ventnor seafront. This would have been great except for the strong wind into our faces !! At the end of Shanklin the path goes up for a while ! Straight up some very steep steps – 155 of them !! And then it winds through some more muddy tracks and woods. You can tell that the climate is different on the South of the island. It was much warmer the daffs were out and the whole area looked like it was in the middle of spring.

We wound down in Ventor and followed the path along the coast, until we reached the idyllic Woody Bay (something our of Whiskey Galore or a Smulggers Tale !). Then it was up again to the top of the island above Ventnor and along the cliff edge to the Holiday Centre at Brighstone where we are staying.

After a good nights rest and a few pints we headed off on a sunny Saturday morning. We followed the cliff along to Freshwater Bay, dipped down slightly then a steady climb to the Needles Battery where again the views were stunning. We wound through the Alum Bay fun park and headed along the path in an Easterly direction. Again at some points we ended up very close to the shore, and even so close that the spray was hitting us. The path winds close to the coast through to the lovely Yarmouth. After Yarmouth we followed the road for a while before heading into another forestry area quite close to the coast. Tough going here because the forest had recently been cut back and it was very muddy. We were pleased to get close to Newtown Bay and the inlet for Newtown Creek. Again great views from the top of the hill looking down the Solent. Newtown Creek is a real pain on the route as it means the coastal path comes right in land. This took us a lot longer then expected. Very wet going to start with and then onto the roads for a while before joing the path again and winding our way to Egypt point, along the coastal road to West Cowes and to the finish at Cowes High School.

Over the 2 days there are a few things that stuck in our minds

-         how beautiful the Isle of Wight is, and how stunning the views are which we have tried to capture in some of the photos.

-         How hilly the North East to South part is, with some very  tough climbs

-         How tired we were after the 2 days. We were all absolutely drained.

We can’t wait now for the event in June to welcome all our competitors to what should be one of the great ultra running events of the year alongside the Round the Island yacht race.