Isle of Wight - I Can See For Miles Tour.

Squint, and the IOW is a bit like rural France or at least what England was like 50 years ago: fewer cars and fewer people and great cycling! As per usual this year's ride is mix of road and off-road routes some of which can be challenging in places and require a decent level of fitness. The 39 mile ride starts at Fishbourne and goes south along the Cowes to Newport Cycleway where we stop for coffee at French Franks Cafe. We then head towards Carisbrooke Castle where we hook up with the Tennyson Trail taking us off-road high on the downs to the Brighstone Forest then follow trails and road to Niton for lunch at The White Swan. We return to Fishbourne via a number of cycle trials on the eastern side island and may finish the day with a pint at The Fishbourne pub near the ferry.

For our ferry journey to the IOW we meet at the car park adjacent to the Wightlink Gunwharf Terminal (see map below). The postcode of the car park is PO1 2LA, payable on RinGo car park code 22280. All day parking is £11. You may see signs for Portsmouth's Clean Air Zone when entering the city, fortunately this relates to HGVs not cars so please ignore. This year we're starting slightly earlier than usual so as to get a full day on the island. You will need to purchase Ferry tickets well in advance for the 8.40 sailing from Portsmouth to Fishbourne return. Please be at the port 8.15 am latest and don't forget to have your printed-out tickets in hand for boarding. Please note that Wightlink have restricted foot passenger sailings due to a change in freight regulations. All foot passengers must book in advance on these sailings. The ferry journey takes 45 min and we start the ride immediately on arrival at Fishbourne around 9.25am.

We return provisionally on the 6 or 7 pm ferry but as we're cyclists Wight Link are pretty flexible. As there is a fair amount of off-road cycling MTBs or Gravel bikes would be best.

The fee for this ride is £4 payable on the day

CYCLING CAN BE DANGEROUS SO YOU CYCLE AT YOUR OWN RISK