cartoon of the Giant of Chale

Giant of Chale: Become an Island Biosphere History Detective: Isle of Wight Biosphere Festival 2024 (Free)

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As part of the first Isle of Wight Biosphere Festival, take part in this self-led digital trail beginning in Yarmouth and ending at Chale on West Wight, created by the Earth Museum. Can be done at any time.

Discover the digital trail here!

We need your help
The Giant of Chale, notorious chaos merchant of myth and legend, has returned to West Wight threatening to spoil its beauty unless we show our love for this landscape’s past.

The Giant challenges you to investigate and find as many historic locations on our Trail as you can, take a photograph of yourself acting out a past story from each place, and post them on Instagram with the hashtag #iwbiosphere

Between us all, hopefully we can calm the Giant of Chale and keep this landscape beautiful for future generations to enjoy!

Designed for families and active adventurers young at heart, this trail takes you on a journey of discovery across West Wight. You can complete all or part of this trail by car, bike, a combination of bus and walking, or even from the comfort of your own home!

Distance: 23 miles (37km) from Yarmouth to Chale one-way.

All but one of the trail locations is ordinarily wheelchair accessible and this location also involves a 20-minute uphill walk along a woodland path. If cycling, the trail includes a steep climb up Compton Down along Military Road.

Other info
You will need a smartphone device with roaming data to follow this trail, although a downloadable PDF version will also be available. (NB This resource requires the latest versions of most common desktop browsers, and works best with Chrome and Firefox. It also supports most common current iOS and Android mobile devices.)

Travel costs
The trail is free but you may incur travel or parking costs:

By car – circa £12 car parking costs if all trail locations visited

By bus – Day Rover ticket (adults £10.50; 17-18 £8.50; 5-16 £6.50; group of up to 5 £29)

Plus admission to any attractions visited on route

Allow at least three hours of daylight to complete the whole trail by car. Allow a whole day if visiting any of the various attractions on route/ following the trail by bus and walking.

The trail will be live from the weekend before to allow you to plan your trip.

Find out more by visiting the Earth Museum website.