Isle of Wight

Fine fortifications trail at Bembridge and Culver Downs

Although peaceful today, Bembridge and Culver Downs were once a scene of much military activity. Follow this easy circular walk along the top of the downs to gain insight into the Isle of Wight's role in wartime defence and intelligence, and to look out over Sandown Bay, Whitecliff Bay and Brading Haven.

Near to

Bembridge Fort and Downs

Start point

Bembridge Fort National Trust car park, Bembridge Down, Isle of Wight PO36 8QY. Grid ref: SZ625859

Trail information

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Difficulty*

Accessibility**

Full trail

DistanceMiles: 1.8 (km: 2.88)

Duration1 hour to 1 hour 30 mins

Dog friendly***

*Mostly flat, on grassy or tarmac. paths. Suitable for most powered wheelchairs and pushchairs. For further details, please see Terrain section.
**The walk is suitable for most wheelchairs, most powered wheelchairs and pushchairs or buggies. For further details, please see section marked Access.
***Dogs are welcome, but please keep them on a lead around wildlife and livestock, and take any dog waste home with you. For further details, please see section marked Facilities.

Address
Bembridge Fort National Trust car park, Culver Down Road, Sandown, Isle of Wight PO36 8QY.
Directions via Google Maps
On foot
The Isle of Wight coastal path meets this trail at the road close to the Yarborough Monument.
By ferry
Portsmouth–Fishbourne (Wightlink, tel: 0871 376 1000) 10 miles (16km).
Visit Wightlink website
Southampton–East Cowes (Red Funnel, tel: 0844 844 9988) 13 miles (21km).
Visit Red Funnel website
Bembridge harbour 5 miles (8km) away has moorings for private boats.
By bus
The Southern Vectis (01983 827000) hourly No. 8 service linking Newport, Ryde and Sandown passes along the B3395, about 0.5 miles (0.8km) from the walk start.
Visit Southern Vectis website
Cycling
Round the Isle of Wight Sustrans route follows the B3395, about 0.5 miles (0.8km) from the start.
Visit Round the Island cycle route website
By road
Bembridge Fort is on Culver Down road, which leaves the B3395 Sandown/Brading to Bembridge road to the east, close to Yaverland. The Fort is at the top of the hill. Park in the free National Trust car park in the field on the right just after Bembridge Fort. The nearest postcode is PO36 8QY.
Dogs
Dogs are welcome, but please take your dog waste home or use the bin provided in the car park next to the Culver Haven Inn. Dogs are welcome across the downs. Please keep your dog on a short lead around livestock and under close control at all other times.
Car park
Free parking on Culver Down.
Toilet
No public toilets on the route.
Café
Refreshments available at the Culver Haven Inn or seasonal cafe opposite the Yarborough Monument.
Pub
Culver Haven Inn opposite the Yarborough Monument.
Total ascent is 60m (200ft). This is a mostly flat walk with one gate on the route and the paths are all grassy or tarmac. It is suitable for most powered wheelchairs and pushchairs, but in wet seasons we suggest you use the road rather than the paths or take the car to the car park at Culver Battery.

Fine Fortifications Trail on Bembridge and Culver Downs elevation profile | © National Trust / Sue Oldham
Total stages: 5
Total stages: 5
Start point
Bembridge Fort National Trust car park, Bembridge Down, Isle of Wight PO36 8QY. Grid ref: SZ625859
Stage 1
From the car park, return to Bembridge Fort by following the road. You can view the fort from the outside.
Bembridge Fort
Bembridge Fort was built in the 1860s on the highest point of Bembridge Down – the Yarborough Monument had to be moved. This hexagonal fort with its dry ditch was built at about the same time as the Needles Old Battery on the orders of Lord Palmerston, the Prime Minister, part of a chain of defences designed to protect the naval dockyards at Portsmouth against attack by Napoleon III. They became known as Palmerston's Follies, because the French invasion never came and they were never used.
Stage 2
On leaving the fort, turn left in the direction of the car park, but follow the grassy path running alongside the road on its left as far as you can. At the field boundary the path cuts through the hedge back onto the road. Cross straight over the road, go through the opposite hedge and turn left, following the grassy path that runs parallel to the road on its right. This path rejoins the road at a cattle grid just before the Culver Haven Inn. Go through the gate to the side of the cattle grid and follow the tarmac road past the inn to the car park, marking the site of the old signal station, where there is an information panel.
Culver's military history
The signal station was one of a series of wireless stations built on the south coast by Marconi, the inventor of the radiotelegraph. In the Second World War, Culver station was used for intelligence gathering due to its good reception, and early radar. It was staffed by Wrens billeted in the nearby coastguard cottages. Elsewhere on Culver Down look out for gun platforms and War Department boundary stones (indicated by WD), as well as fence posts, trenches and radar mast anchor rings.
Stage 3
Continue along the road to the start of the one-way system and follow it left, down to the car park with views to Whitecliff Bay and Brading Haven. Carry on to Culver Battery where there is another information panel.
Culver Down Battery
Culver Down Battery was built in 1906 as part of a series of batteries guarding the Solent approaches from naval attack and was used in the First and Second World Wars. Two 9.2-inch guns could fire as far as Spithead (between the Isle of Wight and Portsmouth). The battery was closed in 1956, and all that remains are the gun emplacements. And the difference between a fort and a battery? A fort commands a group of two or more batteries and has a permanent garrison, whereas a battery would usually have no permanent troops.
Culver Battery on the eastern edge of the Isle of Wight | © National Trust / Sue Oldham
Stage 4
Continue along the road to meet the outward route. Retrace your steps along the road past the inn. You'll see the War Department boundary stones and perhaps some rusting metal rings set in concrete, which used to support the wartime radar masts.
Military structures
Beacons were part of a medieval south coast early warning system designed to respond to the threat of French invasion. They were updated prior to the Spanish Armada and used to pass messages, by way of a flame, to and from the mainland. The beacon on Culver Down was one of a chain of several thousand across the country that were lit on 2 June 2022 as part of the celebrations to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.
Lighting the beacon on Culver Down for the Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee in 2012 | © National Trust / Sue Oldham
Stage 5
Go through the gate alongside the cattle grid then leave the road on the left and follow the grassy ridge-top path that you came along, keeping the hedge and the road on your immediate right. Don't cross the road this time but continue directly ahead and back to the car park.
What a vantage point
Looking south-west from Bembridge Fort, the sweeping curve of Sandown Bay opens out before you. Redcliff Battery was constructed on the cliff edge to protect the bay, but was always at risk of subsidence and was abandoned in 1891. Sandown had its own fort and battery, both built in the 1860s. The fort now houses the Island's zoo, while the battery is set within a public garden. France is just 70 miles away – imagine how vulnerable you would have felt to see the French fleet approaching...
End point
Bembridge Fort National Trust car park, Bembridge Down, Isle of Wight PO36 8QY. Grid ref: SZ625859, what3words: ///sculpting.corner.softest
Trail map
Fine Fortifications Trail on Bembridge and Culver Downs map | © Crown copyright and database rights 2015 Ordnance Survey
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Visitors at Bembridge Windmill, Isle of Wight

Trail

Bembridge and Culver Downs trail

An invigorating walk over the downs and RSPB Brading Marshes reserve, with splendid views of the coast and countryside and passing the island's only windmill.