The Isle of Wight, which sits off the coast of Hampshire, is the largest island of England. The island attracts walkers and hikers for its mild climate, coastal scenery, and verdant landscape of fields, downland (chalk hills) and chines (steep-sided coastal gorge where a river flows to the sea). Pretty much anywhere on the Isle of Wight is lovely for running, given that half the island is a Designated Area of Natural Beauty and there are 500 miles of footpaths! We feature some of the seaside promenades, more run-friendly trails, parts of the spectacular 67-mile Coastal Path, scenic sections of the island’s 200 miles of cycleways, and the best beaches for running. One unique feature is the Isle be Active program, which are 16 different routes of up to 3 km — several of them overlap with our routes. There are also boundless options for trail runners of all abilities. Special thanks to Jo at the Love Running store for her help with this guide!
Note: We recommend avoiding the main roads as they don’t have a shoulder. But you might find some nice running on quiet country lanes.
The Isle of Wight is reachable by ferry — there are 200 crossings a day, from Portsmouth, Southampton and Lymington, to five different island towns. Info. Once on the island, there’s a good bus network, and a railway on the east coast. More in the area: Southeast Coast & Hampshire County.