Easy walking
6kms/33/4mls. 2-21/2 hours. An easy flat walk, although it can be very muddy on the west side. The cycle track on the east side is probably easier for the elderly or infirm.
High spots: Views of Yarmouth estuary and harbour on the approach via the cycle track and equally evocative panoramas from Freshwater bridge. Abundant birdlife and there’s the possibility of sighting a red squirrel along the way.
The easiest, though longest, walk of the lot! And it has the bonus that there’s a good pub at either end of the Freshwater Way, so you can break the walk in half by stopping in Yarmouth or wait until you have finished and relax in Freshwater.
Start the walk at Freshwater church on the western side of the River Yar, climbing over the stile and taking a series of pleasant but unremarkable country lanes away from the water’s edge. The footpath is clearly marked and leads through pastoral countryside, fields and woods. It can be very muddy in places and there is varied terrain to negotiate before you reach the main Yarmouth to Freshwater road. Here turn right across the road bridge and into the attractive West Wight harbour town of Yarmouth.
If you want to break the walk here, you can stop off at the King’s Head, a friendly pub with several contrasting rooms - most with stripped pine or dark oak furniture. The return walk is flat and busier, but full of interest. A wide gravel path, once the old railway track and now a cycle way skirts the estuary from Yarmouth Harbour to the old church at Freshwater. This is a good area to spot birdlife and, if you are lucky, red squirrels. Tree-lined and wooded in places, it provides beautiful rural views, with bulrushes and mud flats on both sides of the path.
At Freshwater, the church itself is worth a lingering look as is the view from the bridge back along the causeway, but don’t delay for too long because immediately adjacent is the Red Lion Inn. This pub is known primarily for its much-acclaimed food and you’ll find plenty of locals here. The nicely renovated interior is filled with pine tables, which give a country farmhouse feel to the place.
Red Lion Inn (Tel: 01983 754925) Open weekdays 11.30am-3pm.
Weekends 11am-3pm. Lunch: 12-2pm – book in advance.
Specialities: Homemade Fish Pie and Fish Cakes. A few veggie meals. Four real ales include Goddard’s and London Pride. 28 wines by the bottle, choice of New World or French wine by the glass. Children under 10 not allowed in bar, but welcome in the garden.
The King’s Head (Tel: 01983 760351) Open weekdays from 11am.
Lunch: 12-2.30pm.
Specialities: King’s Head Sizzling Fajita and other Mexican dishes. Veggie meals. Choice of real ales includes Speckled Hen, Flowers, Bass and Boddingtons. Four wines by the glass (3 white, 1 red). Dogs, muddy boots and children all welcomed. Summer patio.
