2014-05-04 Isle of Wight Randonnee

Camping pitches:

1. BenJam
   
2. Fox
   
3. T4
   
4. hats
   
5. fasih
   6.
   7.
   8.
   9.
   10.
   11.
   12.
   

I feel strong persuasive powers at work here. I have looked at ferry prices. It would presumably be really simple to head down on a train to Portsmouth on the Saturday afternoon with a bike and a backpack, and get a foot passenger crossing, returning on the Monday morning.

Or sunday evening. Portsmouth Harbour is a 2 minute walk from the ferry crossing. Get in.

I am planning on running very light - tent, bag and mat as far as camping equipment goes. Anything else I should bother with?

Camping pitches:

1. BenJam
   
2. Fox
   
3. T4
   
4. hats
   
5. fasih
   
6. Ludd
   7.
   8.
   9.
   10.
   11.
   12.
   

I meant to say before that I established in 2011 that it was cheaper to buy your ferry ticket as part of your train ticket, at least if you group save. I think you just buy the ticket to Ryde, If I remember it right.

This was cheaper than ferry special offers at the time. It may even be cheaper to do something weird like buy a GS from the nearest station to the ferry station with the ferry across included.

Thanks Ben/Ludd. Sounds like a pitch is one less thing to worry about then.

I am planning on running very light - tent, bag and mat as far as camping equipment goes. Anything else I should bother with?

something warm, a gillet folds nicely into a pillow I find.

Yeah got that covered, my roll bag stuffed with a couple of t-shirts makes a good pillow. What I meant was I'm not bothering with fire and cooking stuff.

If you want to travel light, there is a pub and corner shop about 5 mins walk away from the Kite Hill campsite.

That is exactly the kind of thing I was hoping for. So my plan is not so crazy, I suspect we will be in the pub mostly anyway.

right with my London to Bath ride down I'm thinking IoW! I'll give the campsite a call tomorrow and let them know how many we'll need. What time are people aiming to go across on the Ferry? would be good to have a little crowd over...

Need to think about everything too...

Camping pitches:

1. BenJam
   
2. Fox
   
3. T4
   
4. hats
   
5. fasih
   
6. Ludd
   
7. cb
   8.
   9.
   10.
   11.
   12.
   

If anyone else needs a pitch then please put your name above.... I'll be dropping the number of pitches from 12 as I don't want the site loosing business over what is likely one of their busier weekends.

Ben, what ferry do you reckon you'll be on? I guess it's more of a journey for you than for us.

1200 train from Waterloo, arriving Portsmouth Harbour 1333?

^that sort of timing would probably work for me too, although I may be getting a train from East Croydon that gets to the harbour station at 14.02

We could get the train half an hour later, with the ferry at 14.15?

We'd be in Ryde at 14.37, which should be plenty of time for tent setting up and pub visiting.

Is the Ryde ferry cheaper and/or faster than the Fishbourne one? I'd imagined going to Fishbourne because it is so close to the camp site.

The Fishbourne one is a car and foot passenger ferry and the website says it takes 45 mins. The one to Ryde is a foot passenger catamaran and is 22 mins. Not sure about price difference.

Is the plan still to come back on the monday, rather than sunday evening?

Happy to go with the flow on this - I hadn't realised until I looked at a map just now that Ryde is almost as close to Kite Hill as Fishbourne. And the Fishbourne ferry is painfully slow.

I quite like the idea of staying a second night, so as to have time to relax after the ride (and get more sleep value out of the heavy tent I'll probably have lugged with me)

It's £11.80 for Ryde and £9.40 for Fishbourne. But Ryde is quicker and it leaves from Portsmouth Harbour station.

London-Ryde return is 60 quid for train and ferry, from what I can see...

I think last time we went the dude at Waterloo told us it was cheaper to do the groupsave for the train only. Then buy the ferry tickets at Portsmouth. The train return journey is £38 ish quid before groupsave.

So how are we going to do the tickets. Is group save available on the train tickets? and pre-book the ferry? Or is buying the combined tickets cheaper?

^ Had a feeling that would be the case, so what time shall we meet at Waterloo then?

You don't need to pre-book the ferry - we just rocked up at Portsmouth and got them there last time.

I'll bag my own ticket as a) I'm coming from bath and b) I might get a lift to/from the station. That time at Portsmouth works for me though.