As England’s largest island, the Isle of Wight has a lot to
offer the tourist, and I was planning to take advantage of one of these
aspects, on a railway journey. Firstly, you have to decide how to get there.
There are plenty of options, from the shortest crossing, Lymington to Yarmouth,
or ferries from Southampton to Cowes. As I was still in Portsmouth it came down
to a three way fight between the car ferry to Fishbourne, the catamaran at Ryde
or the hovercraft to Ryde.
Fishbourne wasn’t really where I wanted to go, and while I
was quite intrigued by the hovercraft option, however, their website tells me
the bike would have to go on the panniers on the outside of the hovercraft,
which I wasn’t convinced by. That left the catamaran which conveniently left
from Portsmouth Harbour adjacent to the railway station, and arrives at Ryde
Pier Head, where there is also a railway station. Factor in the availability of
an all in one ticket covering boat, Island Line and the Isle of Wight steam
railway and I was sold.
Rather lazily, but under the excuse of getting the full
public transport experience, I took the train from Fratton to Portsmouth Harbour
on the Tuesday morning, and wheeled my bike off the train and down the ramp
into the adjoining ferry terminal, where there was no queue and I got my ticket
with little fuss, though it did come in five parts for each leg of the journey.
A couple of minutes later and the gate to the boat was opened and I wheeled my
bike into the cross passage next to the lounge and locked it in place, there
was a very good capacity for bikes, at least 20 I’d say.
Unfortunately the crew were, literally, scrubbing the decks
and so we were confined to the lounge for the 08.50 sailing to Ryde. This meant
I didn’t get a great view of the ships of Portsmouth Harbour or the Spinaker
tower. However, the weather was rather fine, which was lucky given the
conditions so far in 2013. Out into the Solent and we did shake from side to
side a bit, but nothing uncomfortable. Like Hayling Island, a map of the Isle
of Wight was available, but it was plastered in adverts and I binned it in
favour of prior knowledge with iPhone backup. The hovercraft came speeding past
about halfway across, bouncing like a skimming stone, which in effect, I guess
it almost is. It was a lot smaller than I imagined, and I felt I had made the
right decision to have my bike where I could see it.
Even with the superior speed of the hovercraft, this is not
a slow ferry, and in about 25 minutes we were at Ryde Pier Head. The foot
passengers disembarked, of whom there must have been about 30, so hardly busy
but I may have been going ‘against the flow’ so early in the day. Again, a
swift, smooth process. Then I wheeled my bike off and up into the Pier Head to
board the train.
Now, I must underline the fact that the line from Ryde Pier
Head to Shanklin is part of the national network. You can buy through tickets
and use railcards. To the uninitiated it would appear to be a heritage railway.
In one sense it is, for the line uses 1938 built ex-Bakerloo line stock, as you
can see. By far the oldest stock on the national network. The Isle of Wight
once had an extensive network of railways radiating to all points from the main
town of Newport, half of which fell before the Beeching axe, and the other half
pencilled in under the Reshaping of British Railways report. However the Ryde
Pier Head to Ventnor line survived, though curtailed at Shanklin. Formerly all
the Isle of Wight’s railways were steam operated, but the tunnel under Ryde
Town was prone to regular flooding. Therefore the floor of the tunnel was
raised and the Bakerloo line trains, with their smaller profile, sent to
provide a service, with the line electrified using the third rail.
There are six two car units, of which two are required to
provide the service. In another quirk, the line operates on a 40/20 minute
frequency due to the uneven provision of passing points along the single line.
With longitudinal seating it wasn’t really clear where to put my bike, but I
lodged it in the far vestibule and took my seat, admiring the historic interior
of the train. It isn’t really clear why South West trains haven’t replaced the
Bakerloo line trains with something more recently retired, such as the original
Victoria line stock, though I suspect it may be something to do with signalling
compatibility. However, you would think the cost of converting 6 of those units
must compare, at least in the long term, with the expense of keeping these 75
year old trains going. Much kudos to the fleet guys at Ryde St.John’s depot.
Anyway, we soon scuttled away from the station and down the
pier at 15mph. This is faster than the 10mph permitted on the other half of the
pier by cars and bikes. A couple of years ago, the pier was found to be in need
of major work to keep it structurally sound and was closed for several months
whilst repairs on the road side were carried out. (The trains still ran) There
is now a £1 charge to drive down the Pier. At the Pier Head is a large car
park, where people park their cars before boarding the Catamaran. I think I would
rather park my car on dry land and walk or train down the Pier. But then I don’t
have a car.
We pulled into Ryde Esplanade station, which sits right at
the land end of the Pier. I got off here as I wanted to see Ryde, which I didn’t
do last time, and also to have some breakfast. A fair few people got on here.
The station has that reassuringly English air of seaside dereliction about it,
now being far too grand and expansive for its purpose. On the left, on the
beach, was the hovercraft, which appear to just run up onto the Beach, with a
terminal building on land. Not sure why this surprised me, as this is what
logic would dictate a hovercraft would do. Maybe I was expecting some kind of
cover like a giant bike shed. I think they must have this on the Portsmouth
side.
Ryde Esplanade looked fairly pleasant in the morning sun,
plenty of whitewhashed Victorian buildings, but mostly aimed at the tourist.
Coming away at right angles, and steep angles, from the seafront, were the
shopping streets containing all your regular outlets. At the top of one of
these, was S.Fowler &co., the Wetherspoons outlet, named after the
department store that was the previous use of the building. Must have been
quite a small department store, or over several floors as the pub wasn’t
massive. One Holy trinity plus breakfast later and I freewheeled down the hill
back to the station for the 40 minutes later train to the other end of the line
at Shanklin.
The line dips immediately down into a steep short cutting
before the tunnel under Ryde, and at the other end is Ryde St.John’s Road
station. Quite a few people got on here, all the stations are fitted out in old
BR Souther Region style, with green totems and paintwork. St. John’s Road is
also home to the depot, as previously mentioned. We headed south, and despite the
maximum attainable speed being 45mph, it feels far more than that, perhaps due
to being sat sideways, but also due to being shaken around a bit en route!
Swiftly we were in pleasant pastoral countryside, rolling hills with spring just
beginning to show after a harsh winter. We cut straight through Smallbrook
Junction, of which more later, and following more countryside, pulled into
Brading station. Here the signal box, which was only decommissioned in 1988
following the signalling of the line here, and the disused platform, are
preserved. The remaining platform houses a small museum. The signs said open. I
wasn’t aware of this amenity beforehand, and was planning to hang around
Shanklin before the next train back. I decided Brading looked a more favourable
option.
Southwards we swept, and now the sea came into view on the
eastern flank of the island, but this view was soon taken away by the strip of
built up land that accompanies the coast, comprising of Sandown and Shanklin,
which basically merge into one another, as we found on the cycle trip. In
between is Lake station, which was opened in 1988 as a more recent show of
investment in the line.
The end of the line at Shanklin has its original building
still, and is a staffed station still. I had a quick look around but we weren’t
there for long due to the need to maintain the timetable on the single line
sections. It is a classic piece of non-joined up thinking that the line no
longer continues to Ventnor, providing a link to the south of the island, and
while it would be physically possible to reinstate the link, the cost means
that realistically it will not happen.
Back at Brading, and such is the historic nature of the
station building, I struggled to open the door
to gain access, it was very stiff. Inside was a lovely example of a
staffed country wayside station, which appeared to looked after by a nice
retired couple who were busy keeping things spick and span. There was a little café,
and a display of books, whilst in the former waiting room an exhibition of exhibits
from all of the Isle of Wight’s railways past and present.
Sadly I was getting the train 20 minutes later as this would
have been a lovely spot to have a coffee and pretend I was in the 50’s, but I
had to connect with the steam train. This is done at Smallbrook Junction, which
was opened on both the Island Line and the Isle of Wight steam railway in 1989
for that precise purposes. It is an interchange station only open on days when
the steam railway operates, and even then only connecting trains stop, as we
saw on the way out.
The steam railway has no physical connection with the main
(!) line, and covers the route of the line that ran from Newport to Ryde. In
the early years of preservation they were based at Newport, but in another act
of foresight, were evicted from Newport station site to make way for a by pass,
so the line now runs as far at Wooton, about 3 miles short from Newport.
The train was immaculate and probably the best heritage
stock I’ve boarded, exempting the L&Y saloon at Keighley, as it was
comprised predominantly of original Southern compartment stock. Luxurious
indeed. The helpful guard put my bike in his van, and I just about managed to
find a compartment to myself, being half term this was a busy train, despite
being the first of the day.
In no time at all we steamed out of Smallbrook and curved
around westwards to proceed in the Newport direction. Slow progress was made
through the arable land, pleasant going, though there was much in the way of
trees to obscure the view in places. We passed through Astley halt, which I
believe is for walkers, and after a short while we arrived at Havenstreet which
is the main hub for the railway. Here a lot more people got on, and I was
joined in my compartment by a family of 5. I would have liked to explore the
station, with all the facilities such as museum, loco shed and bookshop on
offer, but time did not allow, as the next train west was 2 hours away. The
scenery remained unchanged as I enjoyed the final stretch to Wooton.
Here a couple of noticeboards highlighted that this was not
the Wooton station of old, it was previously on the other side of the road
bridge. This was because the land on the other side of the embankment was
unstable and kept slipping down onto the track from the non-platform side, and
also due to the rising gradient was unsuitable as a terminus where engines need
to run-round trains. Therefore the replacement Wooton station was modified to
be on a flatter plain, and is now 10ft lower than the old station. This
precludes extending the line towards Newport, especially as the council have
filled the road bridge in to provide additional stability.
Over the road, the old trackbed is now a cycle path, and
taking my road tyres for a risky ride, I decided to cycle down it. There
certainly didn’t seem to be any further evidence of land slippage, so perhaps a
reassessment can be made so a link with Newport can be established once more.
Given the horrendous traffic I encountered in Newport, this is worth a look.
After ¾ of a mile came a road crossing, and rather than push my luck further
down the cycle path towards Newport, I joined the road for the final 2½ miles
into the town.
The road got steadily busier with traffic joining from both
side, until we hit a gyratory in Newport itself where everything was at a
standstill controlled by lights from all directions. Luckily in the middle of
this island was my destination, the Isle of Wight’s other Wetherspoons, which
is situated on the site of Newport station.
I hadn’t been to Newport before and was genuinely surprised by
the level of traffic, I didn’t expect it on an island. Not keen to hang around,
I had my pint and looked at the route to Cowes. Again there was a cycle path
along the old railway, but would it be tarmac. I wasn’t keen on the parallel
main road, but these seemed the only two options. After a bit of a waver
through the town, I rode down to the River Medina and picked up the path, which
to my great relief, was pristine tarmac. It also has a 10mph speed restriction
for cyclists, despite being straight and flat. Who heard of such a thing? I
imagined a policeman with his speed trap in the bushes to catch people doing
11mph. No idea how cyclists are able to work out their speed anyway. I had my
Garmin on which helped, but on such a smooth flat surface it was very difficult
to go so slow, and I think I averaged between 11 and 12 mph.
With the river to my right, this was a very pleasant ride,
with small boats bobbing along and low lying meadowland beyond, but it wasn’t
all nature, as along the riverbank were also signs of industry, some ship
maintenance buildings and a giant modern building which looked as though it was
a recycling centre. In no time at all I had covered the five miles to Cowes and
the cycle path left the old formation as it was covered in housing and I joined
the parallel road into Cowes itself.
My plan here was to take the chain ferry across the Medina
to East Cowes and then cycle back to Ryde. The cycle signs helpfully pointed to
‘East Cowes (via Ferry}’ but before I reached the ferry, a small park appeared
at the end of the housing estate to the left, at the end of which was the
bricked up portal of the former railway. It barely looked big enough for me and
the bike let alone a train. I do find these lost relics of our past, discarded
all too swiftly, fascinating.
Down to the Harbour side, and the road, flanked by tight
terraces to the right, and dockyards to the left, dropped down to the sea
forming a slipway where the chain ferry was waiting. A queue of cars was
waiting, which must prove a nuisance to those living in the road. Wikipedia
actually refers to the ferry as a floating bridge such is the short distance
across the river, but this is a vital link across the Medina which is a busy maritime
area, hence the lack of bridge.
The boat is free for foot passengers and bikes, who can
reside in the covered passageways on the flank of the boat, which contain
useful boards describing the history of the crossing over the years.
The chains cranked up and we went across, even on this short
trip a yacht crossed in front, I imagine during Cowes week careful navigation
is required. Onto the other side and everybody left up the steep ramp on the
other side, whilst an Elderly lady with a zimmerframe made steady progress
towards to boat. I don’t think there is a timetable, it just travels back and
forth as required. A novel but useful form of travel.
Up the hill out of East Cowes, I was now retracing my steps
of 2009, which was to follow the Isle of Wight cycleway, which has very
prominent signs. I passed another cyclist with full panniers crawling up the
hill, and then swept past Osborne House, home of course to Queen Victoria in
her later years. Another one for another day. I pushed the pace on a bit to get
some semblance of a workout from the day, and as previously experience, the
Isle of Wight is deceptively hilly. I knew there would be a hill approaching
Ryde, but it was a long one. Unfortunately quite a busy road too, with the
usual impatient motorists.
I was quite relieved to be able to freewheel down the hill
into Ryde and back onto the Pier, having to deal with this 10mph speed limit
was easier as the cars streaming down the pier set the pace for me. Quite a
surreal experience cycling along the pier, but having being recently renovated,
it was a smooth wooden surface.
I had 20 minutes to wait for the sailing back to Portsmouth,
could have got a bite to eat but the food at the Pier Head was astronomically
priced. This 14.05 sailing was a lot more busy than the morning sailing and
there was a bit of a wait to get on board. That said, everything ran to time
and I was soon back at Portsmouth reflecting on a relaxing and pleasant day. A
lot of the Isle of Wight is based on tourism and I imagine gets quite busy, but
there is enough there for everyone, and the island is large enough to have
quiet and peaceful places to enjoy things to yourself. Well worth a visit.
VITAL STATISTICS – Isle of Wight
Mode of Transport – Catamaran /Train/Bike/Chain Ferry
Distance Travelled on Island–16m
High Point – 182ft, Whippingham
Population – 138,040 (2001)
Area – 384sq km
Largest Town - Newport
Highest Point – St Boniface Down, 791ft
LINKS
Like St.Mary’s island, it is accessible on foot at low tide,
for a period of 2 hours either side of low water. I had first spied the mile long causeway to
the island back in November 2012 when I had run the Edinburgh parkrun which
starts on Silverknowes promenade, the western end of which is where the
causeway starts. However on that crisp clear Saturday morning it was high tide,
and it was the long row of equidistant triangles jutting above the waves that
caught my attention, like the teeth of a crocodile ready to bite. 
VITAL STATISTICS – Cramond Island
