Cool Place of the Day: The Walk from Ventnor to Steephill Cove, Isle of Wight

Every day, a new place to discover or explore, from coolplaces.co.uk

Matthew Hancock
Sunday 08 May 2016 09:14 BST
Comments
Isle of Wight: An ideal walk
Isle of Wight: An ideal walk

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The annual Isle of Wight walking festival is underway and there are on course loads of great and challenging hikes you can do across the length and breadth of the island. But there’s one that is both an easy-peasy stroll for even the most reluctant walker and which brings you to a splendid and relatively inaccessible spot, Steephill Cove – a tiny fishing village hidden below cliffs just west of Ventnor that you can only get to on foot.

It's by no means undiscovered – many of the former fishermen’s houses and shacks are now cool cafés and holiday lets – but it's still an idyllic little spot, and a great target for the walk from Ventnor. Around a mile in all, with a few ups and downs along the way, the footpath skirts low cliffs that are quite eroded in parts, and there are wooden steps to guide you up and round some of the less stable sections.

Once in Steephill Cove, there are plenty of places to get a drink or ice cream – try the fresh crab pasties at The Crab Shed – and the beach is lovely and extremely unspoilt. Those with energy left to spare can climb up the paths alongside to Ventnor's Botanical Gardens.

Cool Places is a new website from the creators of Rough Guides and Cool Camping, suggesting the best places to stay, eat, drink and shop in Britain (coolplaces.co.uk)

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in