The Isle of Wight Festival is just around the corner, and residents and visitors are being made aware of changes to traffic arrangements in and around Newport.
Fairlee Road becomes one-way
From lunchtime on Wednesday, 17th June 2026 a temporary one-way system will be introduced along Fairlee Road to help manage the increased flow of vehicles heading to the event.
The inbound route to Newport will remain open, while the outbound lane will be closed.
Traffic will be diverted via Staplers Road, with normal traffic arrangement expected to resume on the afternoon of Monday, 22nd June 2026.
The temporary one-way system is the same as used over the festival weekend in recent years.
Nightly southbound closures
Please note that Fairlee Road will be closed southbound at the end of the festival each night to make sure pedestrians can exit safely.
Timings may vary due to crowds leaving at different times. We would suggest avoiding the area from 9pm to 2am.
Halberry Lane ‘estate’
Halberry Lane, Cross Lane, Mayfield Drive and Fairmount Drive will be closed to vehicles as a through route, with access only via a valid permit (exemptions apply).
Access for vehicles into and out of Summerfields School will be available during drop off / pick up times only, without the need for a permit, between Wednesday, 17th June to Friday, 19th June 2026.
Newport Quay
During the daytime, access to Newport Quay and the Riverside Centre will be maintained via the bridge from Sea Street, up to the entrance to the Riverside Centre’s car park. The Quay will be closed as a through route beyond the car park entrance.
At night, restrictions will be in place from Sea Street’s junction with The Quay.
Diversion options
In the event of any temporary blockages at car park entrances or incidents on festival routes, a number of diversion options are in place to allow traffic to be safely ‘stacked’ away from main roads and released once the issue is resolved.
Visitors travelling to the Island by vehicle are advised to follow official festival signage and use the following designated routes to reach car parking areas:
East Cowes
For those arriving via the Red Funnel terminal in East Cowes and driving to the festival, the main route to the Festival site will be via York Avenue and Whippingham Road, turning right onto East Cowes Road and into the car park.
During peak times, traffic may instead be directed up to the Racecourse roundabout before looping back to turn left into East Cowes Road.
Fishbourne
Festival-bound vehicles disembarking at the Wightlink terminal in Fishbourne will be directed right onto Kite Hill, through Wootton, down Lushington Hill, and then right at the Racecourse roundabout before turning left into East Cowes Road and into the festival car park.
Yarmouth
Upon leaving the Wightlink Ferry in Yarmouth, traffic for the festival should follow the signs to through to Newport, take the dual carriage to Coppins Bridge and follow the diversion to Wootton and turn left into Lushington Hill, right at the Racecourse roundabout and then left onto East Cowes Road and into the festival car park.
EV charging points
A list of the publicly available electric vehicle chargepoints in Isle of Wight Council car parks and those available on street can be found on our website.
The page includes information on each chargepoints’ location, type of charger, socket, cost and maximum stay.
Please note that the chargepoint at Seaclose Park will not be publicly available during the festival period.
Stay informed
The Isle of Wight Council encourages residents to stay informed by using social media, local radio and news outlets to see routine traffic updates, road closures, and diversions.
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary will provide security and safety updates throughout the event. Details of changes to Isle of Wight Council services based at Seaclose Park and near the Festival site can be found on the website.
Wednesday, 17th June 2026
When changes are made to key routes, some delays are initially inevitable until drivers settle into the revised arrangements.
This is most likely to occur on Wednesday, 17th June and motorists are asked to bear this in mind when planning a journey.
Cowes Floating Bridge festival timetable
As done in recent years, the Cowes Floating Bridge will be operating an extended timetable during the weekend of the Isle of Wight Festival.
For details of the revised operating hours, please see below.
Live updates can be found at the Floating Bridge website Isle Of Wight (iwfloatingbridge.co.uk)
From Cowes
Thursday 18th June 2026
- First Ferry 0500;
- Last Ferry 0020
Friday 19th June 2026
- First Ferry 0500;
- Last Ferry 0120
Saturday 20th June 2026
- First Ferry 0500;
- Last Ferry 0120
Sunday 21st June 2026
- First Ferry 0630;
- Last Ferry 0120
Monday 22nd June 2026
- First Ferry 0500;
- Last Ferry 0020
From East Cowes
Thursday 18th June 2026
- First Ferry 0510;
- Last Ferry 0010
Friday 19th June 2026
- First Ferry 0510;
- Last Ferry 0110
Saturday 20th June 2026
- First Ferry 0510;
- Last Ferry 0110
Sunday 21st June 2026
- First Ferry 0640;
- Last Ferry 0110
Monday 22nd June 2026
- First Ferry 0510;
- Last Ferry 0010
Further information
People are also encouraged to look at the council’s dedicated festival pages which contain important information about the road closures and diversions, including access to Seaclose Park and changes to council services, as information becomes available.
The council asks that residents plan their routes carefully to avoid the designated festival traffic routes on the Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Monday of the event, when traffic volumes will be their highest.
You can see also see traffic information and the official temporary traffic orders here: Isle of Wight Council official notices
News shared by Isle of Wight council press office, in their own words. Ed
