Tennyson Down, Isle of Wight: walk of the week

This week's exclusive National Trust walk takes in a splendid view of the iconic Needles and offers the chance to visit a 19th-century fort.

Tennyson Down, Isle of Wight: walk of the week
The Needles are all that remain of the chalk ridge which once extended to Dorset. An earlier lighthouse once stood on the headland Credit: Photo: National Trust/Sue Oldham

The expert's view

Tony Tutton, Property Manager: "Approach Tennyson Down from the east and an impressive chalk cliff looms before you, making for an exciting start. I have never failed to be uplifted on these downs at any time of year, thanks to the springy turf and views from the ridge.

"When you reach the summit of Tennyson Down, stop and look around. I am particularly drawn to the cliff to look down on the inaccessible world of the cliff face. This is home to sea birds, peregrine falcons and ravens. Rare plants, such as the hoary stock and ox tongue broomrape, can be found growing on the ‘greens’, on the least steep parts of the cliff.

"The down is crowned by the Tennyson Memorial cross and I am sure many of the walkers who sojourn here give a thought to Alfred Lord Tennyson, who used to walk on the down and use it as a source of inspiration."

Essentials

Start: High Down chalk pit car park
Nearest Post Code: PO39 0HY
Grid ref: SZ 325856
Map: OS Landranger 196 or OS Explorer OL29

© Reproduced by permission of Ordnance Survey. All rights reserved. OS licence no. AL100023974

Getting there

By bus: Hourly Southern Vectis from Newport to Alum Bay

By bike: The ‘Round the Island’ cycleway reaches Freshwater Bay

By car: B3322 from Yarmouth/Totland or the Alum Bay road from Freshwater Bay

Facilities: Refreshment kiosk Needles New Battery (opening times vary). NT tea room and toilets at Old Battery (admission charges apply). Toilets in Freshwater Bay.

Local facilities

Refreshment kiosk at Needles New Battery (opening times vary). NT tea room and toilets at Old Battery (admission charges apply). Toilets in Freshwater Bay.

Distance, terrain and accessibility

Allow about 2½ to 3 hours for this 7 mile (11 km) walk, which is a figure-of-eight circuit comprising 4 mile (7½ km) and 3 mile (4½ km) loops. Total ascent 1450ft (450m).

This is an exposed headland and the winds can be ferocious. The chalk paths can be very slippery, and the path from the car park to the Tennyson Monument is steep. The walk includes four stiles. Do not go near the cliff edge!

Dogs are welcome, but please keep your dog on a lead around wildlife and take any mess home with you.

Note: This 7 mile figure-of-eight walk can be split into two shorter walks of 4 and 3 miles.

Points of interest

The Tennyson Monument: The poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson came to live in West Wight in the 1870s and, robed in his distinctive black cloak, walked daily on the downs, composing some of his most famous works. It was with the income from his poem Maud that he was able to purchase nearby Farringford, his family home. The Cornish granite cross was erected in 1897.

The Old and New Batteries: A fascinating fort perched on the very edge of the Island, the Old Battery was built in the 1860s to guard against the threat of French invasion. A 200 ft tunnel through the cliffs leads to a searchlight position with a unique panorama of the Needles. The Battery was purchased from the Ministry of Defence in 1975 with Enterprise Neptune funds. Built in the 1890s, the New Battery played an unlikely role in Britain’s secret Space Age programme between the mid 1950s and 70s. A rocket test site was built and used for static test-firings of the Black Knight and Black Arrow rocket engines.

Flora and Fauna: Some of the richest chalk grassland in Britain is found here, and there is an area of chalk heath where chalk-loving plants co-exist with acid-loving species such as heather. The largest concentration in the country of the rare early gentian is found on West High Down, and there are nine species of orchid including the pyramidal orchid – county flower of the Isle of Wight. In summer you may see dark green fritillary, adonis blue and chalkhill blue butterflies. Herring gull, cormorant and raven nest on the chalk cliffs, and peregrine falcons returned here in the 1980s.

Directions

1. Facing the quarry, take the left hand path out of the car park. After 40m turn right and climb the steps by a wooden bench. The steep upward path continues through a gate to the top of the hill.

2. By the Tennyson Monument turn right and follow any of the cliff-top paths, aiming for the aerial mast visible on the skyline to the far west. Skirt the right boundary of the aerial building then head diagonally left and downwards to a concrete road, by the corner of the Coastguard Station. Cross over and follow the signs to The Needles Viewpoint.

3. Return to the road, turn left and climb the steps on the left just beyond the Coastguard, just before the New Battery. Follow the path down to the Needles Old Battery then the tarmac road towards Alum Bay.

4. At the corner where the road bends sharply left towards Needles Park, go straight ahead and climb a few steps then cross the stile. Keep to the path along the lower boundary of the slope with fence on the left, passing the farm, till it starts to rise by a gate. Follow the track diagonally upwards to a beacon. Cross the stile and take the rutted path gently downhill on the left, returning to the car park after a gate.

5. For the longer walk, follow the outward track from the car park but go straight on instead of turning right to climb the hill. Pass through a gate and follow the path at the bottom edge of the trees, ignoring two footpaths on the left and a rising path branching right.

6. At a 4-way junction by a marker post, turn 90° left through a gate and down the bridleway. Turn right at the T-junction and go along the path with golf course and glimpses of Farringford on the left.

7. Turn right towards Freshwater Bay at the road, passing the thatched church of St Agnes.

8. Just after Dimbola Lodge turn right through a gate into a field and go straight up the hill and through the gate on the skyline. Bear gently right and carry on uphill till the Tennyson Monument is reached. Turn right and head to the gap in the trees and retrace your steps down the steep path back to the car park.

Contact

Telephone: 01983 741020
Email: isleofwight@nationaltrust.org.uk

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