Tennyson Down: a meander with Maud
An invigorating downland walk, with a splendid view of the iconic Needles, a 19th-century fort, a Cold War rocket test site and a monument to a Victorian poet laureate. And along the way you can refuel with a takeaway bite to eat from the Needles Old Battery tea-room. This article was created before the coronavirus crisis, and may not reflect the current situation. Please check our homepage for the most up to date information about visiting.
A challenging hike up to the Tennyson monument
This 7 mile (11km) figure-of-eight walk can be split into two shorter walks of 3 and 4 miles (4.5 and 7.5km).
Map
Elevation
Start:
High Down Chalk Pit car park, grid ref: SZ324855. The nearest postcode is PO39 0HY.
1
Facing the quarry, take the left-hand path out of the car park. After 45 yards (40m) turn right and climb the steps by a wooden bench, signposted T27. The steep upward path continues through a kissing gate to the top of the hill.
The Tennyson Monument
The Tennyson Monument marks the highest point on the chalk cliffs of West Wight, 482ft (147m) above sea level. The poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson came to live in West Wight in the 1870s and, robed in his distinctive black cloak, walked daily on the downs, composing some of his most famous works. It was with the income from his poem 'Maud' that he was able to purchase nearby Farringford, his family home. The Cornish granite cross was erected in his memory in 1897.
2
By the Tennyson Monument turn right and follow any of the cliff-top paths, aiming for the aerial mast visible on the skyline to the far west. Cross one stile in the middle and a gate towards the end. Skirt the right boundary of the aerial building then head diagonally left and downwards to a concrete road, by the corner of the Coastguard Station. Cross over and follow the signs to the Needles viewpoint.
The Needles
The iconic Needles form the western tip of a band of chalk which crosses the centre of the Isle of Wight, stretching to Culver Cliff in the east. This chalk ridge once joined up with the chalk in Dorset. Originally there were four rocks. The missing one - a needle-shaped rock known as ‘Lot’s Wife’ - collapsed in a great storm in 1764. Today’s Victorian lighthouse is a circular granite tower. Its sides are three feet thick at the base - able to withstand waves of up to 20 feet.
3
Return to the road, turn left and climb the steps on the left just beyond the Coastguard Station and before the New Battery. Follow the path down to the Needles Old Battery, then the tarmac road towards Alum Bay.
The Old and New Batteries
The Old Battery is a military fort commissioned by Lord Palmerston in 1862 to protect the Solent from a French invasion. The invasion never came, so the Battery is known as one of Palmerston’s Follies. A secret winding tunnel through the cliffs leads to a searchlight position with a unique panorama of the Needles. Built in the 1890s, the New Battery played an unlikely role in Britain’s secret Space Age programme in the 20th century when it was used as a rocket test site.
4
At the corner where the road bends sharply left towards Needles Park, go straight ahead, signposted T25, and climb a few steps then go through a kissing gate. Keep to the path along the lower boundary of the slope, with fence on the left, passing the farm, until it starts to rise. Follow the track diagonally upwards to a beacon. Go through the gate and take the rutted path T24 gently downhill on the left, returning to the car park after a gate.
Replica beacon
Nodes Beacon, dating back to 1638, once stood on the spot now occupied by the Tennyson Monument. The beacon was one of a chain of beacons across the Island which were lit to warn of impending invasion. The stump of the beacon was moved to its present position on West High Down alongside a half size replica of the original.
5
For the longer walk, follow the outward track from the car park but go straight on following signposted footpath T24 instead of turning right to climb the hill. Pass through a kissing gate and follow the path at the bottom edge of the trees, ignoring two footpaths on the left and a rising path branching right.
Taking care of the downland
Some of the richest chalk grassland in Britain is found here, and there's an area of chalk heath where chalk-loving plants co-exist with acid-loving species, such as heather. The north side of the downs is being restored to chalk grassland with gorse management and clearance of young trees. The turf is kept short by the passage of many feet and rabbit grazing. The downs are now grazed by sheep and cattle.
6
At a four-way junction by a marker post and close to a National Trust omega sign, turn 90 degrees left through a gate and down the bridleway. Notice “Tennyson’s Bridge” 30 yds (30m) to the left, but turn right at the T-junction and go along the path, with golf course and glimpses of Farringford on the left.
7
At the gate onto the road, turn right towards Freshwater Bay, and pass the thatched church of St Agnes.
Thatched church of St Agnes
St Agnes is the only thatched church on the Isle of Wight. It was built in the early 1900s but some of the stonework was recycled from the 17th century birthplace of the scientist Robert Hooke, and a 1622 datestone can be seen on the outside of the vestry wall. The land for this new church was donated by the son of the poet laureate Lord Tennyson whilst he was living at nearby Farringford.
8
Just after Dimbola Lodge, turn right through a gate into a field and go straight up the hill, not deviating to the right, and go through the gate on the skyline. Bear gently right and carry on uphill until the Tennyson Monument is reached. Turn right and head to the gap in the trees and retrace your steps down the steep path back to the car park.
Flora and fauna
Nine species of orchid can be found on the downs. These include the pyramidal orchid – the county flower of the Isle of Wight. West High Down also has the largest concentration in the country of the rare early gentian. Look out for Adonis blue, chalkhill blue and dark green fritillary butterflies in summer. Herring gull, cormorant and raven nest on the chalk cliffs, and peregrine falcons – our fastest bird – returned here in the 1980s.
End:
High Down Chalk Pit car park, grid ref: SZ324855. The nearest postcode is PO39 0HY.
