Huw Griffiths: Walking across the Isle of Wight

I'd always thought that one day it would be nice to walk across the Isle of Wight, East to West, finishing at The Needles, wild camping along the way. So in early August I packed as lightly as I could and took the early evening ferry across to Ryde. The plan was to catch a bus from Ryde to Bembridge on the east tip of the island, but as the buses were so infrequent, I decided I might as well walk along the coast to Bembridge.

To keep the weight down I took a super-lightweight mesh tent which is a triangular ridge tent made out of mosquito netting supported by a single walking pole and guy strings; great for dry, mild weather camping, as forecast.

The next day I walked under perfect blue skies through fields and meadows, with the route passing through places such as Brading and Newport, past Carisbrooke Castle and towards Brightstone Forest where camp 2 was to be. The next day was a more direct route along the top of Compton Down with wonderful views that lead down to a coffee stop at Freshwater Bay. The final stage of the walk was the best; along Tennyson Down and finally to the Needles in the late afternoon before catching a bus back to Ryde via Newport. A solar panel strapped to my rucksack had taken care of my power needs throughout the trip.