Visit Isle of Wight has announced the return of the Autumn Isle of Wight Walking Festival, which will celebrate 25 years in 2024. The multi-award-winning event, held from 5 to 13 October, invites walkers to explore the UK’s largest island – one of only seven UNESCO Biosphere Reserves in the UK.
The Isle of Wight Walking Festival is organised by Visit Isle of Wight, thanks to support and funding from Island business Wight BID levy payers, with the mostly free-to-join walks led by local volunteers with a passion for the Isle of Wight. More routes have been added to the Autumn Walking Festival, which now has up to 100 walks available to visitors who wish to explore the Isle of Wight at a slower pace. New walks cover a range of interests and opportunities for walkers of all ages keen to discover more about the Isle of Wight and its history.
Celebrating its 200th anniversary, the RNLI is featured in a 5-mile walk between two villages on the south coast of the Isle of Wight. Titled Two Churches, Two Wrecks and Two Lifeboats, the walk takes in the coastal path with stories about the heroic efforts of the lifeboat crews.
The newly re-opened Appley Tower, a 19th-century folly perched just above the beach at Ryde, is the focus of another new route for the Autumn Isle of Wight Walking Festival. Led by Rachael Ardley of the Appley Tower Heritage Project, the gentle 1.5-mile circular walk gives attendees the opportunity to discover the history behind the iconic landmark on Ryde seafront and visit an exhibition at Appley Tower.
Local charity Wight Nature Fund will lead walkers on a four mile walk at Yarmouth. The walk includes an exploration of Mill Copse, a stretch of partly ancient woodland on the banks of the River Yar managed by Wight Nature Fund. There will be the opportunity to see how coppicing, completed in part with local students, is helping to regenerate the Mill Copse and provide a better habitat for local flora and fauna.
Celebrating Goatober, keen walkers are invited to join the Chair of the Isle of Wight Ramblers, David Yates, for an 18-mile circular route on the south side of the Island. Those who complete the journey will be rewarded with a tour of Kingston Smallholding Goat Farm, a goat hot dog and drinks. A three-day walk relay will give visitors various opportunities to explore the east coast of the Isle of Wight.
Totalling 26 miles, the Relay The Bay walks are broken down into six shorter routes. A community-created handmade silk flag forms the ‘baton’, which is carried along the way and passed from one stage to the next. The walk is supported by Isle of Wight National Landscape (formerly IW AONB) as part of its UNESCO Biosphere Reserve ‘Get Out There!’ strategy.
Click here to learn more about the Autumn Isle of Wight Walking Festival.
