Hi
I have been to Black Gang a couple of times last year
Lovely beach but quite a hard walk down ... Just don't leave anything in the car as a hell of a climb back
Enjoy
Simon

We took our camper to the Isle of Wight for a few days in August 2011 and afterwards I posted some notes on the motorhomefacts forum:

"Just returned from a few days on the Isle of Wight.

Enjoyed a trip to Culver naturist beach near Sandown on the south-east coast. Plenty of motorhome-friendly seafront parking at Yaverland, near the Zoo. Just walk east along the beach for 10 minutes towards Culver Cliff to get to the recognised clothes-optional section. There is a healthy co-existence between swimsuited and bare bathers. Unfortunately, when we were there the tide was in, so most of the large sandy beach was covered.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.6615762,-1.1267883,1885m/data= !3m1!1e3 (click satellite image)

Another day we found our own 'freelance' naturist beach, which was easy to access with the motorhome. It was at Brook Bay, near Freshwater on the south-west coast. A National Trust pay and display car park - £2.20 - free to NT members - at Brook, provided a good place to stop, with just a 2-minute easy walk down to the beach. From there we turned left and strolled less than ten minutes east to find complete tranquility away from any other beach users. It's not really a recognised naturist location, but given it was a fine August day and so undisturbed, we thought it was the perfect place to sun and swim in the buff. A couple of people walked past during the four hours we were there, but they and we were completely unconcerned.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.6505267,-1.455713,236m/data= !3m1!1e3  (click satellite image)

There is also a well known naturist beach at Blackgang, at the southern tip of the island. We went a few times when we were younger, but it requires quite a long scramble down to access, so didn't bother this time."

Mike

Edited to say the Google links appear truncated, so click the 'satellite' image to see more detail.

Blackgang beach  and Culver beach near Sandown  are excellent naturist beaches on the beautiful Isle of Wight.

Many thanks for the information.  Just have to hope this weather holds now.  🙂

I f you have a motorhome or camping there are full facilities at Grange Farm site, further south down the Military Road.
At the beach turn RIGHT towards Chilton Chine. It's a very quiet sandy stretch before Chilton Chine but less sandy beyond there to Brook. Check the tides.
Not official, but no problem so far with the usual precautions! Best time is now, before the school hols.

Turning LEFT at the beach, and WHEN THE TIDE IS RIGHT, you can walk to Shepherd's Chine (Atherfield). About half of this is on a pebble bank, not the easiest to walk on.

There's a camp site at Atherfield also, facilities but no shop.
You can walk south from there when the tide allows, to Blackgang but there is NO ACCESS OFF the beach along this stretch. This is a semi-official naturist beach with some nice sandy parts, but the cliffs are eroding continually, particularly from Atherfield Point to Whale Chine and Blackgang Bay.

There is a Coastal Path all along this edge if the tide is wrong or you want easier walking!

Thanks to everyone for the information.

Having just returned, we tried all three suggestions.

Unfortunately the access to Blackgang now seems even more difficult than it did a few years ago, so we gave up on that one.  Could be age creeping up  🙂 but it sure looks a long walk now.

Spent a couple of days on Yaverland Beach.  Although in July, no other naturists about.  We still managed to strip off at the far end of the beach.  Only a few textiles walked that far and didn't seem to have any problems we were there.

Finally we spent a lovely day at Atherton Beach.  What a beautiful  wild unspoilt beach.  Not over busy, one other naturist couple and a handful of single guys.  Everyone friendly, and a shame we didn't try it a bit earlier.  This one gets our rating.

One beach to go back to

Once again, many thanks for the info.

Glad you enjoyed Atherfield, but did you walk to the Point and view the wild expanse of Chale Bay, with Blackgang in the distance?
We've had excellent afternoon sunshine for the past 2 weeks but it usually deteriorates when the school holidays start!!

Yes, we walked along to the point.  Lucklily the tide was out. We will certainly be returning to this beach.  So unspoilt.

Just looked at the weather for the next two weeks.  Not looking that great for the school holidays.

The Southern Vectis bus company is now running its cycles-carrying 'Island Coaster' service at times convenient for a day trip to the quiet West Wight beaches, if you are using the Lymington-Yarmouth route from the mainland.
From Yarmouth bus terminus, adjacent to the ferry, the outward bus is at 09.30.
Returning to Yarmouth, it leaves Niton (nearest for Blackgang Beach) at 16.55 and passes the beaches at Atherfield, Brighstone, Chilton Chine and Brook. It arrives at Yarmouth at 18.05.
It carries 6 cycles and runs every day until 31st August. They hide the details on their website under Island Breezers, which are different buses!
Probably best to cycle out and bus back after a scorching hot day on the beach!! Probably!!

The Southern Vectis 'Island Coaster' cycle-carrying bus has finished for this year and starts again April 2016.

Has anyone been down to Blackgang / Rocken End this year ? Just wondered what access is like as it's an active area for landslips.

Hi I am going to the Isle of Wight soon for a holiday; wondering if anyone can give me some info on the beaches near to Sandown.  Such as are they easilly accessible by pedetrians? Are they within walking distance of Sandown, or near to public transport? Thanks for your help.

long time since I went to Isle  of Wight but the naturist beach is at
Blackgang. Definately not walking distance.  It is also a fairly long slog down the clifs to reach is but nice and sandy when you get there

Try Yaverland Beach.
If you park near the Zoo in Sandown and then walk as far along the beach as you can away from the Town, the far end is used by naturists on a hot day.
We went last year and it is about 2o-25 mins walk but worth it.

Last year access to Blackgang Beach was very difficut due to the landslides, so we went further along to Atherton Beach.  Fairly quiet - handful of other naturists on the beach.  Lovely spot. I think that the bus stops on the main road nearby.