Visit the picturesque Isle of Wight and travel on the Island Line linking Ryde with the seaside resorts of Sandown and Shanklin.

The Island Line is a vital lifeline for the Isle of Wight. It starts at Ryde Pier Head, connecting with the WightLink catamarans from Portsmouth, then travels along the pier to Ryde Esplanade, for Ryde town centre and bus links across the island, before heading out to Smallbrook Junction, Brading and the seaside resorts of Sandown and Shanklin. Smallbrook Junction is the station for the Isle of Wight Steam Railway.

Highlights

Ryde Pier

Isle of Wight Steam Railway

Brading station with its heritage centre and restored signalbox

Find out more

Local line website

Where will your journey take you? Cycling on the Isle of Wight

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwRaykHwsis

Getting there

Train/bus Car Plane

There are car ferry services to the Isle of Wight. The Portsmouth - Fishbourne route is the best one for the Island Line.

Take the train to Portsmouth. Portsmouth is well served by trains from London Waterloo, Gatwick Airport, Brighton, Southampton, Bristol and many other towns and cities in the south of England. Look up times.

The easiest and fastest route to the Isle of Wight is to go to Portsmouth Harbour and take the catamaran to Ryde Pier Head.

An interesting alternative is to leave the train at Portsmouth and Southsea station for the bus link to the hoverport where you can travel to the island on a hovercraft, run by Hovertravel, Britain's only passenger hovercraft service. Their hoverport in Ryde is close to Ryde Esplanade station.

Route

Ryde - Shanklin (Isle of Wight)

Cost

£6.40 Day Return

Opening times

7 days a week | all year

Journey time

24min

Distance

8.5 miles | 14 km

Time from London

2:10 hours (see itinerary)

Plan your trip

Suggested itinerary

From London Waterloo, take the train to Portsmouth. Look up times.

The easiest and fastest route to the Isle of Wight is to go to Portsmouth Harbour and take the catamaran to Ryde Pier Head.

However you arrive, take time to take the train along Ryde Pier.

From Ryde, when the Isle of Wight Steam Railway is running, you can make a simple change of trains at Smallbrook Junction.

Continuing on from Smallbrook Junction, the line passes through pleasant green rolling countryside calling at the rural station of Brading and then going on to Sandown and Shanklin, both renowned seaside resorts.

Stop off at the great Gaslight Cafe at Sandown station for a coffee and a bite to eat. From Shanklin, you can pick up a bus at the station to continue on to Ventnor.