Ventnor's Armada Coast 1588 Heritage Talk & Trail
St Boniface Norman Church, Bonchurch Village Road, Bonchurch, Ventnor, Isle of Wight, PO38 1RG
The Heritage Walk will be introduced at St Boniface Norman Church, which is small and can accommodate only about twenty-five people at maximum. Should there be numbers in excess of this, then an attempt will be made to address the remainder by turn or else outside. This introduction will discuss recent discoveries and provide insight into the heritage trail, which, following the introduction, you will be able to venture on.
The ‘Armada Coast 1588’, launched in 2025, includes a coastal footpath between St Lawrence and Bonchurch with Heritage Boards full of detail at strategic locations. From these vantage points are seen churches, buildings, cliffs, beacon downs, bays and views that have survived much as they were experienced in 1588 by those interacting with the Spanish Armada’s arrival off the Isle of Wight at dawn on the 25th July 1588. QR Code activation on Heritage Boards and bespoke literature brings a plethora of detail about locations along the Coastal Trail from charts to playwrights, ships to spies and marine archaeology to local heroes. Emergence of the earliest charts extant from 1588 together with primary sources across England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic, Holland, Norway, the USA, the Iberian Peninsular and the Mediterranean all serve to restore the close proximity of the Spanish Armada to the Isle of Wight, its objectives and the critical significance of engagements off its coastline. There is an Armada Coast 1588 Downs Heritage Trail but this is not fully commissioned as the siting of its Armada Coast 1588 Downs Heritage Board awaits permission for its permanent location atop St Boniface Down, where there was a beacon site and from which other Armada warning beacon sites are identified across the Island and depicted as lit on Vischer's engraving of Vroom's painting of the battle close off Dunnose in 1588 which is identified on it by name.
Timings & Tours
- Tuesday 16 September:
- Coastal Walk starts at 1010 hrs at St Boniface Norman Church, Bonchurch, with 15 minute introductory talk
Location & directions
St Boniface Norman Church, Bonchurch Village Road, Bonchurch, Ventnor, Isle of Wight, PO38 1RG
- Directions:
- No 31 Community Bus from Ventnor to Bonchurch Pond leaves a walk of 300 yards to St Boniface Norman Church. It also runs to Shore Road at Horseshoe Bay Bonchurch where the Armada Coast 1588 Coastal Heritage begins; No 3 Southern Vectis Bus from Shanklin Railway Station stops at The letter Box on Leeson Road, Bonchurch, which leaves a walk of 400 yards downhill to St Boniface Norman Church. The walk along the Armada Coast 1588 Heritage Trail begins at St Boniface Norman Church with a talk of 15 minutes allowing for incoming and outgoing bus connections for those with mobility complications. The Coastal Trail is suitable for wheelchairs between Bonchurch and Ventnor but not from Ventnor to St Lawrence where some steep slopes are required of those walking along the cliff path.
- Contact on day:
- David Baldwin
- Telephone number:
- +447702003855
Booking information
- Pre-booking requirement:
- Pre-booking not required
Accessibility details
There is full wheelchair access along 2 miles of the route from Bonchurch to Ventnor but none along the next half comprising two miles between Ventnor and St Lawrence. Three locations along the route from Bonchurch to Ventnor have car parks with full disabled access adjacent to Trail. These are at Shore Road, Bonchurch; Eastern Esplanade, Ventnor (+ Toilets) ; and La Falaise car park beyond Western Esplanade, Ventnor. These three locations also have detailed, large print, 'Armada Coast 1588' Heritage Information Boards with QR further history - and at Woolverton Road, St Lawrence.
Additional information
The church is located in a narrow cul de sac and there is virtually no parking in the vicinity. Those with mobility challenges are advised to begin the Walk at Shore Road car park where there is a detailed Armada Coast 1588 Heritage Board and QR Code facility that enables the Walker to join all the others nearby in Horseshoe Bay. Please note that you are responsible for your own safety while participating on this trail. Please stick to the paths.
- Est. tour duration:
- 2 hour(s) 0 minute(s)
