This short but hilly route is mostly on grassy paths, including one of the steepest paths on the Island. It can be slippery in wet weather. The views are spectacular as you reach the highest point on the Isle of Wight. On a fine day, you can see the mainland clearly to the North, and the sea to the south looks stunning.
THIS IS A NATIONAL TRUST WALK. PLEASE CONSIDER SUPPORTING THIS IMPORTANT CHARITY BY BECOMING A MEMBER, OR BY MAKING A DONATION.
- Address: Ventnor Down National Trust car park, off Down Lane, Ventnor, Isle of Wight.
- OS map: Landranger 196, Explorer OL29
- Activity: Walking
- Challenging: Hilly, grassy terrain.
- Dog friendly: Dogs are welcome but please keep them on a lead around wildlife and livestock, and take any dog waste home with you.
- Full trail: Miles: 2.5 (km: 4)
- Access: Challenging
- Duration: 1 hour 15 mins - 1 hour 45 mins
- Total ascent: 200m (660ft).
You can view a PDF of this walk by clicking the button below, but it lacks some of the extra information. So read below for further details which is taken from the National Trust website.
Step 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.
LOOK OUT FOR: View from the top
Enjoy the panoramic views of Ventnor and the Channel from this point at the top of the downs, 787ft (240m) above sea level. St Boniface, Luccombe, Bonchurch, Littleton and Wroxall Downs are all part of Ventnor Downs.
Step 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.
LOOK OUT FOR: Ventnor Railway Station
The walk passes the site of the old Ventnor railway station. Built within a sandstone quarry, it opened in 1866 and closed 100 years later when the last link was made by tunnel to Wroxall. You can see the bricked up southern end of the tunnel, which passes under Wroxall Down, as well as caves excavated in the cliff walls to serve the railway. With the arrival of the railway the town came into its own, both as a tourist destination and a health resort.
Step 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.
LOOK OUT FOR: Holm oak
The evergreen holm oak was introduced to Ventnor Downs by the Victorians. With its glossy, salt-resistant leaves, this invasive species copes all too well with the exposed coastal location and now covers the south side of St Boniface Down. On other parts of the downs, however, our herd of feral goats helps control the trees' spread.
Step 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.
LOOK OUT FOR: Flowers and butterflies
Chalk grassland flowers such as horseshoe vetch, rock rose, centaury and yellow-wort flourish here, as do the insects that feed on them. Scrub and trees have been cleared, allowing butterflies to spread over a wider area and build up larger, more sustainable populations. Look out for meadow brown, small heath and the rare Adonis blue, which flies from late spring until late summer.
Step 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.
LOOK OUT FOR: The Ventnor goats
Look out for our flock of feral goats. They live on the downs and are used to keep the holm oak in check. These old English goats were introduced in 1993, and specialise in stripping bark and eating woody growth. The kissing gates are sprung to keep them in. Also keep your eyes peeled for buzzards, kestrels and ravens, which use the up-draughts from the steep slopes to search for prey.
Step 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.
LOOK OUT FOR: RAF Ventnor
Now home to the National Air Traffic Services, the radar station at RAF Ventnor was built in 1937, one of 22 linked stations along the south coast. The station played an important role in the Battle of Britain, tracking enemy aircraft. In Operation Overlord it was used to monitor ships and aircraft in support of the D-Day landings, and to track ‘doodlebugs’.
End Point
Ventnor Downs car park, grid ref: SZ565784
