Island Line visit

[trebor79]

Hi guys,

Before COVID came along, I promised myself that I would have a trip to the Isle of Wight to have a ride in the 1938 stock before it's too late.
I'm thinking of doing this in the next couple of months or so.

A cursory look at SWR website tells me there is an hourly service. It also wasn't plastered with "Do not travel" type messages that my local TOC is still displaying.
Is the service usually more frequent than hourly?
Is there a rover ticket available? I want to do the whole line but will be starting and finishing at Brading, so a simple return ticket won't work. Not that the ticket prices are expensive mind...
If the steam railway is running I'll go on that too. I once spent an afternoon in Ryde and didn't think there was much there (but I was about 23 and sat in a pub with my mate and our girlfriends for most of it - youth really is wasted on the young). What's Shanklin like for a mooch about?

I'm think Brading up to the the pier head (via steam railway if it's running), walk down the pier, sink a pint and catch the next train to Shanklin, spot of lunch, back to Brading and then home.

I live in East Anglia but will do it as a day trip to comply with the current "rules" on not staying overnight other than in one's own home.

Thanks for any advice or pointers.

 

[AlastairFraser]

Hi guys,

Before COVID came along, I promised myself that I would have a trip to the Isle of Wight to have a ride in the 1938 stock before it's too late.
I'm thinking of doing this in the next couple of months or so.

A cursory look at SWR website tells me there is an hourly service. It also wasn't plastered with "Do not travel" type messages that my local TOC is still displaying.
Is the service usually more frequent than hourly?
Is there a rover ticket available? I want to do the whole line but will be starting and finishing at Brading, so a simple return ticket won't work. Not that the ticket prices are expensive mind...
If the steam railway is running I'll go on that too. I once spent an afternoon in Ryde and didn't think there was much there (but I was about 23 and sat in a pub with my mate and our girlfriends for most of it - youth really is wasted on the young). What's Shanklin like for a mooch about?

I'm think Brading up to the the pier head (via steam railway if it's running), walk down the pier, sink a pint and catch the next train to Shanklin, spot of lunch, back to Brading and then home.

I live in East Anglia but will do it as a day trip to comply with the current "rules" on not staying overnight other than in one's own home.

Thanks for any advice or pointers.

I'm afraid I'm not a local either but will try my best to answer the questions you've set out. The normal services is every 20-40 minutes, but the service is very unreliable due to the units' age and the poor quality infrastructure ,so this may be back to the hourly service on the day. There is an Island Liner Day Rover and info about it is on the link here : Island Rover. Ryde has a nice beach and amusements if you're into that sort of thing and they're open/not rammed. Shanklin I have been to a few times and it is less of a traditional seaside resort like Sandown and Ryde but still has crazy golf and a tea garden and Shanklin chine with a section of the pipe that supplied British troops in Europe. I would get the hovercraft if running instead of the fast cat but you'd have to get a bus from Portsmouth and Southsea to Southsea ferry terminal. And the Needles Battery on the west of the Island may be worth a look at if open and the weather is not inclement on the day (they are rather exposed!).

 

[heart-of-wessex]

You can combine crossing and rover tickets as well

https://www.wightlink.co.uk/go/tickets-prices/combination-tickets/

I used to get a train to Portsmouth Harbour then get a FastCat + Island Line day rover, IMHO was just easier than faffing about getting to Southsea Hovercraft port.

 

[trebor79]

Thanks or the info, appreciated. I will be flying in to Bembridge hence starting/ending at Brading which is a shortish walk from the airfield, so an Island Rover looks like the ticket for me.
Now I just have to hope the 1938 stock holds out long enough for me to sample it. Will also try and wait until there's no expectation to wear a mask or anything daft like that too.

 

[ajs]

Whilst appreciating that the OP will be flying to the island, anyone who is tempted to travel to the island at the moment, should think again. The fast-cats are not running, hovercraft is transporting essential workers and supplies only. As far as l am aware the car ferry between Portsmouth and Fishbourne is running a reduced service for freight and essential workers. The route between Lymington and Yarmouth has been suspended. Am not sure about the Red Funnel services between Southampton and Cowes but expect there are similar restrictions.

 

[Enthusiast]

I will be flying in to Bembridge hence starting/ending at Brading which is a shortish walk from the airfield,

Bembridge "airport" to Brading station is a tidy step. I reckon about 2.5 to 3 miles by road though there may be a footpath. Have you considered using Sandown? That's quite a bit closer to Sandown station.

 

[trebor79]

Bembridge "airport" to Brading station is a tidy step. I reckon about 2.5 to 3 miles by road though there may be a footpath. Have you considered using Sandown? That's quite a bit closer to Sandown station.

Looking at an OS map there are footpaths through the countryside. Sandown aren't letting people off the airfield at present.
My son and I went to Bembridge on Friday and walked to the beach. That involved only a few hundred yards of road walking, but that was scary enough. I wouldn't walk long distances in those roads.
We didn't come withing 50 yards of another soul all day.
I will wait until things are a bit more relaxed before I go and bash the island line though.