A Visit Isle of Wight 6 mile circular walk starting at pretty Godshill village, taking you through the beautiful countryside that lies between the villages of Wroxall and Whitwell. There is a good carpark in Godshill (PO38 3JD), or select one of the starting points below if you prefer to leave the car at home.
DIRECTIONS from Ventnor
Catch the Number 3 bus from Ventnor, straight to Godshill. Alight by the Griffin Pub in the High Street.
DIRECTIONS from Whitwell
Catch the Number 6 bus north from Whitwell (Haywards stop at the northern end of the village), straight to Godshill. Alight in West Street, at the Jubilee Close stop.
DIRECTIONS from Wroxall
Being a circular walk, you can easily start from the village on foot, starting at points 6 or 7 on the map (see PDF link below). Or take the Number 3 bus to Godshill (alight at the Griffin stop in the high Street.
TIME: 3-4 hours
DISTANCE: 6 miles
DIFFICULTY: moderate to challenging
WALK ROUTE - also see map PDF (link below)
1) Start your journey from Godshill, a picturesque village, which is chock full of treats. Take care walking through Godshill, the roads are narrow and the pavement disappears at points along the busy main road.
2) The first stop is All Saints’ Church famous for a 15th Century fresco painting of Christ on the cross. Walk north along the High Street until you meet Church Hollow. Cross the road and take Foot Path 62, to the Church. The stunning thatches cottages make this one of the most picturesque streets on the Island.
3) Then take Church Hill south until you reach Bridleway 56 to Sainham Farm. The bridleway will join Foot Path 58.
4) Follow Foot Path 58 until you meet a cross roads then take a right turn onto Foot Path 49. When you meet a fork in the path take the left option onto Bridleway 51, which will take you passed a Radio Station.
5) When you meet a cross roads of Bridleways turn left onto Bridleway 50 and then join Byway 48 which will bring you onto Rew Lane. Turn Left and join Foot Path 47 at Span Lodge.
6) Join Foot Path 45 just past Appuldurcombe House. Before its partial destruction by a wartime explosion the house was considered a masterpiece of English Baroque architecture. It is still an astonishingly beautiful building set in ‘Capability’ Brown’s only Isle of Wight landscape. This gorgeous house played centre stage in one of the most salacious scandals of the Georgian Period.
7) Foot Path 45 will join Bridleway 44 at the Freemantle Gate. Follow Bridleway 44 all the way back to Godshill.
8) You will come out on the Shanklin Road, turn left and from here it is only a short walk back to where you started.
