Attempted the IOW Full Coastal setting off from West Cowes (chain ferry) and heading anti-clockwise, finishing at the Life Boat cafe in East Cowes.
This attempt was unsupported (I carried all my own kit and refilled water at public water taps). In my kit I had packed 2x soft flasks containing electrolyte infused water (500ml each) plus 2 x bottled water (500ml each), 2 x bean/rice burritos, jam sandwiches and a variety of dried snacks/gels. I set off from West Cowes at 5:41am and had a nice route through Gurnard into Portchfield, arriving in at the Needles around 10:25. Route from there to Compton bay was also decent (this is where I did my first refill of water from the public water tap by the toilets, refilling both soft flasks and 2 x bottles. Also stopped here for some lunch (arrived in Compton around 12:15). Lovely route along the coast all the way to Ventor where again I refilled by water at the taps by the beach then through to Shanklin and Sandown. Stopped shortly after for jam sandwiches from my pack then headed through Yaverland and Bembridge. Stopped at St Helens for another bean burrito and snacks then through Seaview to Ryde where again I refilled water. Route through to East Cowes was ok but did encounter a police cordon which involved a detour. Finished route at the Life Boat.
Route was ok but there were multiple diversions in place due to land slippage and overgrown paths which added kms onto the journey (completed 115.99km in total). Some pictures of the closed paths but didn't capture all of them (please see route for where I had to divert) some of the closed sections had diversions to follow, but others didn't so had to find a suitable way round via my map / compass. Terrain was very technical in parts, including overgrown paths, running on pebble beaches and scaling steep steps. Majority of the route was enjoyable though :) - love this island!
Moving Time: - 11:13:50
Total Time: - 13:09:09
(Totals according to Garmin)
**wouldn't let me upload pictures for some reason but pictures are available on the Strava activity**