Cycling Isle of Wight:
your ultimate guide

Isle of Wight cycling routes

Here are some rules of thumb to help you plan your Isle of Wight cycle routes.

• The south and west sides of the Island are the least populated, so the roads will be quieter.
• The biggest hills are in the south and west around Wroxall, Ventnor and Blackgang.
• If you’re looking for one of the traffic-free cycle paths on the Isle of Wight, they run between Cowes in the North, Newport in the centre and then south to Shanklin and Sandown and east to Ryde. The only stretch of cycleway outside this is in the west between Yarmouth and Freshwater.
• You’re likely to encounter traffic around the main towns, particularly Newport (centre), Yarmouth (west), Ryde (east) and Cowes (north).

The links below will take you to three of our favourite routes on the Isle of Wight:

Rides

Lighthouse, Needles and Downs: the most scenic Isle of Wight cycle ride?

88km 1250m

Round the Isle of Wight cycle route (aka Isle of Wight Randonnee)

109km 1350m

South Isle of Wight in a nutshell

35km 600m

Our in-depth guide to cycle route planning may be useful if you want to find some additional routes!

Family cycling around Isle of Wight

Visit Isle of Wight has information on short, easy Isle of Wight cycle routes that would be suitable for family bike rides.

But watch out! Many of these are on mixed terrain, some of which are not suitable for road bikes.

On the website, you can see an interactive map which features different routes and can display length, elevation and difficulty.

A family cycling along the beachfront between Sandown and Shanklin (photo credit: Visit Isle of Wight)

Isle of Wight cycling events: Isle of Wight sportive and festival

The Isle of Wight’s round the island cycle is in May each year. Local club Wayfarers CTC organise it and you can either do a 100km ride (with approximately 1,500 meters of climbing) clockwise around the island or a 55 km loop clockwise in the east of the island.  It is free to enter (though you are encouraged to donate at the checkpoints). Book your place early.

Until 2015, the Isle of Wight Cycling Festival happened each September with a wide range of cycle-related events including plenty of additional routes suitable for a wide range of ages and abilities. Sadly funding cuts ended it, but the Tour of Britain created a route for a potential stage which can be viewed and followed on the Visit Isle of Wight website.

And finally…

Don’t miss our top tips for cycling Isle of Wight.

Where to stay (for cyclists)

You can find our suggestions for cycling-friendly hotels on the Isle of Wight in this article. The pointers below direct you to the most useful parts of this article, depending what you’re looking for.

Top tip! Visit Isle of Wight has also created the ‘wheel of approval’ award that celebrates businesses that have gone above and beyond in what they offer cyclists.

Descending from Ventnor Down (photo credit: Visit Isle of Wight)

Cycling round the island

When you’re thinking about where to stay, bear in mind what type of cycling you want to do. If you’re focused on cycling round the island, you’ll probably want to stay on or near the route. Our round the Island route guide should help you plan, and we think these accommodation options are particularly good:

• our suggested hotels in Ventnor;
• our suggestions in the west of the Island.

Cycling path access

Alternatively, if you want to access the traffic-free cycle paths, you’ll want to be close to those (see above). In that case, these accommodation options would suit you well:

• our suggested accommodation in Cowes; or
• our suggestions around Freshwater and Yarmouth.

Other options

Or how about hiring a holiday adventure van and doing a mini tour?!

Our quick guides to the Isle of Wight’s towns should also help you narrow down your choices!

For a range of bike friendly accommodation, from self-catering and B&Bs to Camping and Caravan sites, Visit Isle of Wight’s ‘wheel of approval’ which provides ideas for the perfect place to stay.

Merstone (photo credit: Visit Isle of Wight)

Bike hire: Isle of Wight

Most of the cycle hire on the Isle of Wight is for leisure bikes; the Isle of Wight’s bike paths make it great for family cycling. We’ve included those bike shops in the list below as you may be on the Isle of Wight with family and so want to hire bikes for the kids.

We’ve highlighted yellow the bike rental shops that offer road bike hire.

Tips:

• Book your bike in advance, particularly in peak season and if you want a road bike during the Isle of Wight cycle sportive (the round the island randonee).
• Remember to bring your pedals and shoes. This packing list may help!

Undecided on whether to hire a bike or bring your own? Read this.

Other Isle of Wight bike shops

You won’t find bike hire in the shops listed below, but they could be useful to know about if you have a mechanical while you’re on the island. Remember also that some of the hire shops listed above also do repairs.

Bike hire shops Isle of Wight

The old Military Road coming out of Freshwater Bay (photo credit: Visit Isle of Wight)

When to go

It is well known that the Isle of Wight (and particularly the southeast of the island) has a milder climate and is sunnier than other areas of the UK. Towns such as Ventnor also have favourable microclimates due to their sheltered position under cliffs.

That said, don’t expect Mediterranean weather; this is still the UK, after all.

So, the big question. When to go cycling on the Isle of Wight.

• If warm weather is a priority: June or early July (but avoiding school half term), when everything is busy, but the schoolchildren haven’t yet arrived.
• If you aren’t fussed about the weather: Spring (April-May) and Autumn (September-October) with May and September being the ideal months.
• If you don’t mind whether attractions are open and love solitude and the open road, the depths of winter can work well (November – February). We had a fantastic few days in January when it felt like we had the island to ourselves and enjoyed quiet roads, cafes and walks on the beach.
• If you’re tied to school holidays: Easter or the summer term half term. Everything will be pretty busy, but prices shouldn’t be as high as in August.

It comes down to your priorities. We hope this colour-coded chart will help you decide.

Tips and articles

For practical advice on visiting the Isle of Wight, try:

• Autumn rides: Discover the Isle of Wight on two wheels
• Dorset, New Forest and the Isle of Wight with Kids (Footprint Travel Guides)
• The Rough Guide to Dorset, Hampshire & the Isle of Wight

For history and quirky facts about the Island, The Little Book of the Isle of Wight by Jan Toms is a good bet.

If you are looking for a novel set on the Isle of Wight, these are a good starting point:

• The Trespasser by DH Lawrence
• No Escape by NJ Cooper
• The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham

Cycling through Yarmouth (photo credit: Visit Isle of Wight)

Want to watch a film before you cycle Isle of Wight?

The 1997 film Mrs Brown starring Judi Dench and Billy Connolly was partially filmed at Osborne House.

Victoria And Abdul, also starring Judy Dench, was filmed on the island.

Isle of Wight cycle map

A host of online maps can be found on the Visit Isle of Wight website, from top scenic bike rides to family friendly cycling trails and routes for beginners and experts.

Top tip! Each map has the distance, duration, elevation profile, and most include the type of track. You can also download the GPX files or print the route to PDF .

Bicycle Island map, featuring:

• Over 500 miles of cycle paths, byways & bridleways
• Routes – uncover the Island roads of the Isle of Wight with the Round the Island Route, Red Squirrel Trail and Chalk Ridge Extreme
• Services such as bike hire, repair, bike buses and electric charge points

Try Outdoor Leisure 29 for a highly detailed 1:25,000 scale, or OS Landranger Map sheet 196 The Solent and Isle of Wight at 1:50,000.  These are particularly worth buying if you want to find alternative routes/take diversions from the round island route

Good to know

Practical advice

• Just in case you were wondering… You don’t need a passport to get to the Island; it is a county in the same way that Surrey is a county!
• It’s Isle of Wight, not Isle of White!
• Join Facebook group Isle of Wight Cycling for up-to-date information about events as well as people posting to see if anyone wants to do a ride.
• If you want to know which island roads on the Isle of Wight are currently being resurfaced or are restricted/shut, check out this useful website: http://www.islandroads.com

Fun facts

• The Isle of Wight is the twelfth biggest British island by size and fourth by population.
• The National Trust owns more than a tenth of the island.
• Almost half the island has been designated as an area of outstanding natural beauty.
• There are no motorways.
• An estimated 25,000 people visit the island’s annual garlic festival.
• Around 3,000 Cyclists take part in the Round the Island Randonee each year.
• The Isle of Wight is the dinosaur capital of the UK. Over 25 different species have been discovered including the UK’s largest dinosaur the Sauropod.  The remains of a little dinosaur, Yaverlandia, found on the Island, is the only specimen in the world and is displayed at the Geology Museum at Sandown.  In 2009, 5-year old Daisy Morris discovered the fossils of a previously undiscovered species on Atherfield Beach, which has since been named after her.

Famous people

• Charles I was held at Carisbrooke Castle from 1647-1648 before his execution in London.
• Bob Dylan played at the Isle of Wight music festival in 1969 (to a crowd of 150,000). The next year, the festival attracted 600,000 people and included Jimi Hendrix in the line up. This was his last show before he died!
• Island-born celebrities include Oscar-winning film director, Anthony Minghella, Mark King, lead singer/bassist in pop/funk band Level 42, Jeremy Irons, an actor born in Cowes, Bear Grylls, the adventurer, writer and television presenter, yacht designer, Uffa Fox, and actress Sheila Hancock.

The eight wonders of the Isle of Wight

(There are various versions of this!)

1. Cowes you cannot milk
2. Freshwater you cannot drink
3. Lake you can walk through and stay dry
4. Needles you cannot thread
5. Newport you cannot bottle
6. Newtown which is old
7. Ryde where you walk
8. Winkle Street where there are no winkles

Cycle path through Merstone (photo credit: Visit Isle of Wight)

Enjoyed our guide?

We’d love to hear from you – comment below or drop us a line.

Want more? Don’t miss our guides to the best Isle of Wight cycling routes and other articles on the Isle of Wight, below.

Want to check out some other destinations? For our UK guides, click here – or search by the month you want to travel or cycling destination you want to visit, here.

Ask us a question

Nick Weightman is the Exhibitions, Trade and Sustainability Executive for Visit Isle of Wight, the official tourism body for the Island.

A born and raised Islander, Nick lives in Cowes and enjoys exploring the Island both on and off two wheels. Cycling to work every morning and discovering new adventures with his family, he embraces the zero emissions commute and getting back to nature, experiencing the great outdoors, abundant wildlife and gorgeous scenery that the Island is blessed with.