Family cycling and camping trip to the Isle of Wight

Tansy · Post by **Tansy** » 20 Jan 2017, 8:15pm

Hello,

My partner and I both cycle to get to work and travel locally as we don't have a car and now have a competent 4 year old cyclist and a nearly 2 year old balance bike enthusiast. We've done wild camping on foot pre-children but never any touring by bike, but inspired by a lovely family we met on our way home from a festival last summer, we are keen to try family touring. We are now kitted out with a chariot trailer and a Yepp Maxi (thanks to aforementioned family!) and have bought a follow-me (much better than the tagalong we were using) and rather optimistically we now think we could start touring!

From the little research we have done, we were thinking the Isle of White could be a good starting point. The Red Squirrel Trail looks good and there's a good looking campsite in Shanklin called Ninham where we thought we might base ourselves for a few of our days there. Our thinking is that we won't have to cycle too far to enjoy the scenery and there are a lot of off road cycle routes and campsites.

Does anyone have an opinion about this? Or any advice? Suggested routes or campsites on the Isle of Wight? Tips about touring with small children?

Thanks,

Tansy

Heltor Chasca · Post by **Heltor Chasca** » 20 Jan 2017, 8:57pm

+1 for Ninham farm. Not the 'resort' type campsite nearby. Awful. Delightful owners and awesome facilities. Much better than I deserve anyway. Amazing rates. The local town is pretty rough though. The other campsite I recommend is Compton Down. My type of thing. Bit pricey for a VERY basic site.

gaz · Post by **gaz** » 20 Jan 2017, 10:11pm

+1 for Ninham Farm, IIRC (it was about 10 years ago). Certainly did some riding from the campsite with mini-me on a tag-a-long.

pedalsheep · Post by **pedalsheep** » 20 Jan 2017, 10:24pm

The Red Squirrel trail is flat and easy from Shanklin to Wroxall but the section from Wroxall to Godshill is rough and hilly. I wouldn't want to do it with a young child and I wouldn't do it at all on a road bike. Sandown to Newport is a good cycle track although it gets rougher as you get closer to Newport and the Newport to Cowes track is very good. Sandown seafront to Shanklin is excellent easy cycling although it is a bit of a pull up to the town from the seafront in Shanklin. There are a lot of quiet lanes on the island but they do tend to be quite hilly.

hayers · Post by **hayers** » 21 Jan 2017, 8:04am

Was an article in the cuk magazine a few issues ago about family iow tour - might be worth finding online

The trail from yarmouth to freshwater is also flat and family friendly - but only on road approaches unless you're sailing from lymington. Decent cafes at each end too

eileithyia · Post by **eileithyia** » 21 Jan 2017, 8:59am

It can be quite hilly, the Lymington freshwater track is flat but fairly short. It is a lovely island if you can cope with short sharpish hills.
Alum Bay is everyone's nightmare, but at least it is compact in one place, however it is worth seeking out the path down to the beach (hidden away by the chairlift entrance or use the chairlift for the experience I guess) then you can take a boat trip to view the Needles and wonderful cliff strias and colours.

Tigerbiten · Post by **Tigerbiten** » 21 Jan 2017, 11:38am

Isle of White is nice.
It was the start of the lumpy section on my around coast last summer.

BUT ............
Which area is your home base and are there any campsite local.
Unless you live near one of the ferries, I'm thinking the first time you go cycle camping with kids you don't really want the hassle of public transport.
A practise run or two from home may be a good idea.

hamster · Post by **hamster** » 21 Jan 2017, 1:56pm

One other possibility is the New Forest - its generally pretty flat and has plenty of smooth gravel trails. It's a good combination with the IOW. IOW is much hillier the moment you go off the old railway paths. The IOW east end is short steep hills with never a flat section, west side tends towards longer hills.

Tansy · Post by **Tansy** » 21 Jan 2017, 10:44pm

pedalsheep wrote:The Red Squirrel trail is flat and easy from Shanklin to Wroxall but the section from Wroxall to Godshill is rough and hilly. I wouldn't want to do it with a young child and I wouldn't do it at all on a road bike. Sandown to Newport is a good cycle track although it gets rougher as you get closer to Newport and the Newport to Cowes track is very good. Sandown seafront to Shanklin is excellent easy cycling although it is a bit of a pull up to the town from the seafront in Shanklin. There are a lot of quiet lanes on the island but they do tend to be quite hilly.

Thanks, this is exactly the kind of detailed info we need!

Tansy · Post by **Tansy** » 21 Jan 2017, 10:47pm

eileithyia wrote:It can be quite hilly, the Lymington freshwater track is flat but fairly short. It is a lovely island if you can cope with short sharpish hills

We live in bradford so hill are a bit of a speciality for us but we don't always enjoy them!

Tansy · Post by **Tansy** » 21 Jan 2017, 10:52pm

Thanks for all the responses - keep them coming! We will be using public transport from Bradford as we don't have a car but have managed the bikes on trains a couple of times. We know we will need to plan meticulously!

eileithyia · Post by **eileithyia** » 21 Jan 2017, 11:53pm

I would also agree with the New Forest suggestion, there is even a great campsite and week of family cycling every July with a visit to the IOW, plenty of tracks, plenty of other families... serious cycling friendships are forged during this week.

New Forest Cycling Week http://newforestrallycc.org.uk/

Tigerbiten · Post by **Tigerbiten** » 22 Jan 2017, 3:52am

If you want a trial run, look at Delamere Forest.

The C&CC site is only around a hundred yards north of the station, but it looks like 2 changes to get there by train.

Gattonero · Post by **Gattonero** » 22 Jan 2017, 11:50am

I would advise to avoid Bank Holidays, cars around would spoil the quietness of the place.
New Forest is a very good option, plenty to explore! Don't miss Beaulieu

Heltor Chasca · Post by **Heltor Chasca** » 22 Jan 2017, 12:29pm

Tansy wrote:
pedalsheep wrote:The Red Squirrel trail is flat and easy from Shanklin to Wroxall but the section from Wroxall to Godshill is rough and hilly. I wouldn't want to do it with a young child and I wouldn't do it at all on a road bike. Sandown to Newport is a good cycle track although it gets rougher as you get closer to Newport and the Newport to Cowes track is very good. Sandown seafront to Shanklin is excellent easy cycling although it is a bit of a pull up to the town from the seafront in Shanklin. There are a lot of quiet lanes on the island but they do tend to be quite hilly.

Thanks, this is exactly the kind of detailed info we need!

And if you time it with the IOW Randonée, you are guaranteed a great cup of tea and a friendly welcoming from pedalsheep [emoji6] As I did last year. Made my day that did!

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