The Isle of Wight’s 175 year long association with Charles Dickens is being celebrated with the launch of a new interactive walking trail.
The Dickens Trail takes in some of the views that world-famous writer himself would have admired while holidaying on the Isle of Wight nearly two centuries ago.
The walk has been created by the Isle of Wight Ramblers, working with Ian Dickens, the great-great grandson of Charles Dickens and Sue Lowday, a respected Dickens historian.
The route
Starting in Shanklin, the 6.3 mile interactive trail reveals the holiday home where Charles Dickens stayed and other locations the author of A Christmas Carol and Great Expectations visited while staying on the Isle of Wight in 1849.
The walk moves from Shanklin and over the top of the Downs before descending to the vibrant coastal town of Ventnor and finishes in the beautiful village of Bonchurch.
Scan the QR codes
The close link to Charles Dickens can be felt throughout the trail by scanning QR codes on an accompanying leaflet, from where Dickens own descendants can be heard reading the Victorian celebrity’s own words about his stay on the Isle of Wight.
The leaflet will be available from the Southern Vectis bus stations and Tourist Information Points across the Island.
Dickens: It’s wonderful that this new Trail will allow many to walk in Charles Dickens’s footsteps
Ian Dickens says he shares his famous relative’s love of the Isle of Wight:
“When my great-great grandfather was here in 1849, he wrote about the Island saying ‘the variety of walks are extraordinary,’ adding ‘there are views which are only equal to the Genoese shores of the Mediterranean’.
“As an Island resident, I wholeheartedly agree and it’s wonderful that this new Trail will allow many to walk in Charles Dickens’s footsteps.”
Howarth: Includes seven sound bites from the Dickens family
David Howarth is from the Isle of Wight Ramblers and helped to create the new trail,
“This is a fabulous walk along those places that were adored by Charles Dickens. The Charles Dickens Trail takes walkers to the highest point of the Island with panoramic views. It then descends into Ventnor and along the coast to Bonchurch.
“The leaflet explains the association with Charles Dickens and includes seven sound bites from the Dickens family. It was good to compile this trail with Ian Dickens, great-great grandson of Charles Dickens, as well as Sue Lowday who is a Dickens expert historian.”
The Dickens Trail is supported by Southern Vectis and Visit Isle of Wight, working together to highlight the sustainable nature of walking on the Isle of Wight and encouraging visitors to leave the car at home and utilise the Island’s extensive bus network to get around.
An interactive map of the trail can be found on the Visit Isle of Wight website and on the popular walking app, OutdoorActive.
May launch
The Dickens Trail will be officially launched on 3rd May 2025 at an event at the Royal Hotel in Ventnor and will feature in the Spring Isle of Wight Walking Festival between 10th-18th May 2025.
News shared by Simon on behalf of Visit Isle of Wight. Ed
