Walk 46 Luccombe to Sandown - 4 miles

A regular winter walk, so I was surprised I hadn't written it up before. It's an ideal starter for the new year, not too long and fairly flat.

Leaving the bus route at the green known as Big Mead, Priory Rd leads to the steps to Luccombe beach. This end of the beach stays quiet even in high season, free from deckchairs and other enticements.

From here, one can walk along either the beach or Esplanade as far as Yaverland at the foot of Culver Down beyond Sandown to the east. However, the reverse is not true and only at very low tide it possible to head west towards Ventnor, scambling over rocks; really not advisable.

Nothing is more typical of the Isle of Wight than thatched cottages, and there are a fair few thatched pubs, but as far as I know, the Fisherman's Cottage is the only thatched pub on the beach, tucked away at the foot of the natural gorge of Shanklin Chine. According to Historic England, the cottage was built in 1871 by William Colenutt, who created the path through the Chine and set up the first bathing machines on the beach.

Later the pub provided hot seawater baths for Victorian tourists seeking health cures, and the Chine now contains the only surviving example of a Hot Brine Bath, a marble basin dating from c.1845, with wooden handrails, now a Grade II listed building.Generally the pub is only open April to November.

Passing the foot of the Chine, the route follows the Esplanade with its familiar array of beach shops, cafes and pub-restaurants. 

 Note along the way the three ornate Victorian shelters.

 

At the far end of the Esplanade is the South East Beach Cafe with its decking projecting on to the beach, 

Here we come to Shanklin Sailing Club and the beginning of the sea wall walk through Lake to Sandown.

 Plenty of dog walkers were in evidence today.

 Sandown's Esplanade hotels may have seen better days, but a new Premier Inn is being built. The beach, however is a fabulous stretch of soft sand.

At the end of the sea wall we come to the remains of Sandown Pier. A 360 foot pier first opened for the 1879 season, to be extended to 875 feet in 1895. The ballroom at the pavillion end of the pier was at the heart of the resort and paddle steamers called at the new landing stage. In the 1990s, the theatre was replaced with a bowling alley and golf course, and the beach end is still a popular attraction with a cafeteria, shops, kiosks and amusements.

My walk ended with lunch at one of a number of popular seafront eateries, looking out at the view up to the coastguard cottages and monument on Culver Down

Retracing my steps to the beyond the pier, steps lead up to the clifftop path and the WW" defences at Battery Gardens by which I made my way back to Shanklin.

Walk Details
Start: Big Mead, Shanklin
Finish:Lake
Distance: 4.18 miles
Time: 2 hours
Bus: No 3 from Ventnor, Ryde or Newport
Refreshments/WC: South Beach Cafe, various along seafronts