Walking on the Wight: Jacqui Robertson of Shanklin Theatre
IW Walking Festival veterans and Shanklin Theatre Guides, Jacqui Robertson and Heather Whitchurch, will be 70 this year and to celebrate, they are wandering around the Seven Wonders of the Isle of Wight in seven days and covering 70 miles. By doing so they aim to raise £700 for the Friends of Shanklin Theatre. Jacqui shares some of her favourite treks and viewpoints across the Island.
Unlike many ‘overners’, I had only been to the Isle of Wight once in 1990 with my family before retiring to the Island 10 years ago. We stayed in a caravan in the walled Appledurcombe Holiday Park and went to visit many sights on the coast and, in Shanklin, the Dotto train was still running along the seafront!
I liked Shanklin so much that we live here now. We had a few criteria for our retirement location such as to be beside the sea, near a small town with most facilities and transport and after visiting a few locations, we chose Shanklin. It had the additional bonus of a great choice of footpaths and the possibility to volunteer at the Theatre.
We love to walk on the Island and there’s so many great walks! It would be hard to pick a favourite! For a lovely short walk, I would always recommend the cliff path between Shanklin and Sandown and back, either on the beach or the revetment depending on the tide. A favourite long walk of mine would also be starting in Shanklin, but this time heading up to the Downs up to the old Radio Station, down to Wroxall and Godshill and back via the Donkey Sanctuary along the cycle track. It offers panoramic views and in the Springtime you can enjoy an amazing display of bluebells in the open air.
For a summertime stroll, using the ‘Island Coaster’ bus from Shanklin, I start from Freshwater Bay and walk the Tennyson Trail to the Needles and either stop there or continue to Colwell Bay via Headon Warren. The views while walking are fantastic and the Island Coaster makes you feel like you are on holiday!
In the wintertime, I also jump in the bus, the No 3, which takes me from Shanklin to Trinity Church bus stop in Bonchurch. I then like to walk through Bonchurch village, which is so charming with its pond with fish and terrapins and it’s a nice stroll from there down to the sea. I continue to walk to Ventnor esplanade and through Ventnor Park and then take the bus back to Shanklin from Ventnor town centre.
My favourite view on the Island is either on the West Wight, the view from the Tennyson trail towards the Needles, or the peaceful scenery of the River Medina along the Newport to Cowes cycle path.
Our series of seven wonders walks for the Spring Festival incorporates many of my favourite walks and routes. Heather and I are keen walkers and have been Walk Leaders for the Isle of Wight Walking Festival since 2019. As we are both turning 70 this year, we thought we could do something to celebrate it using our common interest. And then the ‘7’ theme started: 70 miles in 7 days wandering around the 7 Wonders of the Isle of Wight and raising (hopefully) £700 for Shanklin Theatre.
We initially thought of doing the 70 miles around the Island but we both prefer to do circular walks. So the idea came to do walks based around the 7 Wonders of the Isle of Wight, which non Islanders may not know.
The ‘Wonders’ story was created by N J Nigh of Shanklin before the 1st World War. In previous years, we concentrated on doing walks around Shanklin where we are based, but the 7 Wonders gave us the opportunity to create brand new walks and make our walking groups discover new areas.
From Ryde where you walk, to Needles you can’t thread and Cowes you can’t milk, check out Jacqui and Heather’s seven wonders walks across the Island HERE