Walks About Wootton
Hidden Wootton Walk
A Walk to Woodhouse and Littletown
Other Wootton Bridge Walks
Welcome to Wootton Bridge. This leaflet is one in a series of five walks designed to help you explore some of our village’s history and beautiful surroundings. Enjoy your walk.
- Distance: Approximately 6 miles.
- Timing: 2½ - 3 hours.
- Nearest car park: Brannon Way.
- Bus routes: Ryde - Newport No. 9, Ryde - East Cowes No 4.
- Recommended: Bring your binoculars.
- Not recommended for disabled.
- Start and finish: Brannon Way car park.
- Taken at a gentle pace this walk is fairly easy going along footpaths and gravelled byways. Sturdy footwear is recommended. You will cross fields and stiles.
Start at the car park in Brannon Way, which is opposite the Community Centre. Turn left from the car park into Brannon Way and then right up into Mary
Rose Avenue, which meanders through the estate into Fernside Way as far as the junction with Station Road.
Turn left into Station Road.
Proceed a few yards until you reach Packsfield Lane North, footpath N8. Continue down the lane for approx. seven hundred yards when you will reach
Packsfield Farmhouse on your left and then the level crossing for the Steam Railway. Wootton Station can be seen up the line to your right.
DO NOT WALK UP THE LINE.
The line originally opened in 1875 as the Ryde and Newport Railway, with stations at Ryde St Johns Road, Ashey, Haven Street, Wootton, Whippingham and Newport. Both Wootton and Whippingham closed in September 1953 and the line itself in February 1966. However, its unique charm has been perfectly preserved by a largely volunteer-run organisation, which began life in 1971.
Trains run in season from Wootton to Smallbrook Junction for onward connection to Island Line stations and the mainland. You may be lucky and see a steam
train passing! Taking great care, cross the line.
Take footpath N7 to your left and walk up the hill until you reach the junction with footpath N4. You are now in Littletown.
Here opposite Woodford Cottage in 1846 was the old Littletown chapel built of brick and slate by the Bible Christian Movement. Littletown was then a selfsupporting and thriving hamlet. The coming of the railway in 1875 and development of Beech Lane into Station Road spelled the erosion of community activity in Littletown. The Great Gale of 1897 destroyed the chapel.
Turn left taking N3.
After 100 yards turn right passing “Shiloh” which was once Mousehill Farm. Continue walking for about half a mile until you reach the junction with
Briddlesford Road. CAUTION: THIS IS A VERY FAST SECTION OF ROAD.
Turn right.
Proceed with extreme care to Briddlesford Lodge Farm, which is situated a few yards away on the opposite side of the road. Hops were grown on this
farm until World War 1 and in the farmyard is a relatively small rectangular brick structure divided into two hop kilns. Both kilns have unusual low curved
roofs with a central ventilation hole to which a cowl would probably have been fitted.
Turn round so that Briddlesford Lodge Farm is now on your right and proceed back along Briddlesford Road along the grass verge, again with great care, and take the left hand track directly opposite Blacklands Lane at Knights Cross Cottages.
Continue up this bridleway (N10) , passing the entrances to Knight’s Farm on the left and Doreshill Farm on the right.
Carry on past woodland known as Dunnage Copse and just past here the track divides. Take the left hand fork N12 to Wootton Bridge and proceed along the
track to Woodhouse Farm where in the spring you will see a carpet of daffodils, wood anemones and bluebells.
Just before you reach the farm, turn left taking footpath N2. Cross over the stile and proceed through the fields. Please keep your dogs on leads at all times. You will eventually reach another stile, which meets up with footpath N3 at Littletown. Cross the stile and turn right. You will recognise this path from your outward journey. After about 150 yards you will arrive at “Shiloh” again, turn left and in 100 yards you are back at the Littletown footpath junction.
Continue on N3 and N4 until you reach the junction of Station Road. Whilst walking, keep looking over the hedge to your left as on a clear day you can see the white cliffs of Tennyson Down at Freshwater in the far distance.
You will see the Woodman’s Arms public house on your left. Originally built as two agricultural workers cottages in the 17th century, it was converted
into its present situation in about 1880.
Now turn right into Station Road and continue for about 200 yards.
You will come to Wootton Station on the right hand side. On the left hand side of the road behind the Chapel is the Station Master’s House, built in 1907. Adjacent to this is the Methodist Chapel, which was built in 1897 as the replacement for the Bible Christian Chapel at Littletown.
Take the cycleway / footpath next to the Chapel. This right of way is constructed on the original trackbed of the railway line, which formally continued
to Whippingham, Newport and Cowes.
After a quarter of a mile you will come to a recently constructed railway bridge, which was built in 1999 when the original fell into disrepair. Pass under
the bridge and continue walking for about 100 yards until you reach the junction with Park Road. Cross the road carefully and continue on walking down
the ‘other side of the track’.
After about half a mile you will reach Whippingham Station on the right, which is now a private dwelling.
It is known that Queen Victoria did use the station on at least one occasion, on 11 February 1888, when she travelled from Whippingham to Ventnor and back for the opening of the National Consumption Hospital there.
Take a right hand turn just before the Station House and proceed down past the crematorium until you reach the junction with the main road (Lushington
Hill).
Opposite is one of the gatehouses Queen Victoria would have driven through. Turn right and proceed up the hill, passing Harwood’s Garage at the top, on your right.
Continue on to the traffic lights at the corner of Church Road / High Street / Station Road.
Turn right at The Cedars, cross at the lightcontrolled crossing, and proceed along Station Road for about 200 yards until you reach Fernside Way. Turn
left and follow the road through the estate until you reach Brannon Way, turn left and on your right is the car park.
Information:
A printable version of this walk is available by clicking on the leaflet image on the right of your screen. This PDF document is designed to be printed at A3 size. If your printer prints A4 you will still be able to print this document, but at a reduced size.
Printed copies of this walk and four others are available from:
Wootton Bridge Help and Information Center
4 & 5 Joanne's Walk, Brannon Way, Wootton Bridge.
Telephone: 01983 884 555
www.woottonwici.com 
Open: Monday - Friday 0900 - 1300 hours
Note: Outside of these times copies are normally available from the display point on the pavement outside the centre. There is also another display point located at the entrance to Wootton Station Car Park.
Acknowledgements:
Wootton Parish Council wishes to thank the many people and volunteers who have supported and helped in whatever way with the production of the Walks About Wootton Project. Without them these leaflets would not have been possible.
All the drawings used on this page are © Copyright Coco Design Co. Tel: 0198 3854 006 Mobile: 07530 867318. E-mail: Coco Design.
The creators of this website express their appreciation to Coco Designs for the use of these images.
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