Views of Ventnor walking trail
Enjoy far-reaching views of the downs and the English Channel, as well as a rich blend of wildlife, on this short but challenging walk on the south side of the Isle of Wight.
Near to
Ventnor DownsStart point
Ventnor Downs car park, grid ref: SZ565784Trail information
Total stages: 6
Total stages: 6
Start point
Ventnor Downs car park, grid ref: SZ565784
Stage 1
From the Dakota plane crash information panel at the back of the car park, follow the path around the perimeter of Ventnor Radar Station, keeping the fence on your left. Just before the gate, turn right by a tall mast signposted V1. After 45yds (40m), go through the kissing gate and bear left, taking the ridge-top path towards Ventnor. This is one of the many gates designed to keep the downs' feral goats in their enclosure. The path eventually drops very steeply with a series of steps. Go through the goat gate at the bottom, where there is an information panel about Coombe Bottom. Continue through the copse, including two flights of concrete steps.
Stage 2
When you reach the industrial estate, the site of the old Ventnor railway station, turn left. At the main road, turn left again and walk 380yds (350m) along the pavement on the right-hand side of Mitchell Avenue. Just past Ventnor Bowling Club, take the path into the woods on the left, signed V110.
Stage 3
Follow the path along the bottom edge of the wood overlooking the tennis courts. Don't go through the kissing gate into Bishop's Acre but bear left up the hill, with the livestock fence on your immediate right. After a short distance, the fence turns and goes down, but our path continues to rise straight ahead. At the junction, take the left fork up the hill.
Stage 4
Go through the goat gate to emerge onto open downland. Follow the contouring path for about 600yds (550m) across the lower slopes of St Boniface Down. This is the best area to see chalk grassland flowers and butterflies.
Adonis blue life cycle: eggs laid in horseshoe vetch, caterpillars hatch and pupate into a beautiful butterfly | © National Trust / Chuck Eccleston ARPS (vetch and caterpillar) and Matthew Oates (butterfly) Stage 5
Just below an isolated clump of trees on an exposed flank of the hill, a path with steps joins from the road below and you can see a crescent of houses close to the sea. Turn left here and climb straight up the down, passing a clump of trees. The path is very steep but becomes better defined higher up the hill. You may feel it's more suited to goats than people. Near the top of the hill there's a bench and an information panel.
A feral goat | © National Trust / Sue Oldham (goat) and National Trust Images / Hilary Daniel (buzzard) Stage 6
Go through the goat gate and up the hill. Follow the signpost V113 for 50yds (45m), where it meets a crossing track with a view of Sandown Bay ahead. Turn left along the crossing track to a disused parking area. Walk along the access track leaving the open ground, turn right through a gate signed V43, then quickly left again in 20yds (18m) to follow a grassy track that runs parallel to the road. Return to the car park by turning left opposite a wartime shelter.
End point
Ventnor Downs car park, grid ref: SZ565784
Trail map
Views of Ventnor walking trail map | © Crown copyright and database rights 2015 Ordnance Survey
More near here
Ventnor Downs prehistory and wartime walk
This short but challenging walk on the south side of the Isle of Wight takes in a Bronze Age burial site and reminders of the island's wartime history.
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