Getting to Freshwater Bay by Public Transport
| This page is about getting to Freshwater Bay House by Public Transport. For other information about staying at Freshwater Bay House see the page here. |
There are various options to get to the island including ferrys, catamarans and hovercraft to Yarmouth, Cowes, East Cowes, Fishbourne and Ryde.
Lymington Pier to Yarmouth Ferry
There is something about traveling by ferry to start the holiday.
The Wightlink Lymington Pier to Yarmouth ferry is the most convenient for Freshwater Bay as it involves less traveling once on the island.
HF Holidays member discount: If you’re a member, you can get 20% off foot travel with Wightlink Ferry to get it click on the 'getting here' tab on the HF page here . However this may not be the best deal, if you have Tesco Clubcard points you may be able to use them. Or it may be better to buy ferry tickets as part of you rail ticket, especially if you have a railcard. If you do get a train ticket for Yarmouth make sure its Yarmouth, Isle of Wight and not Great Yarmouth, Norfolk which one fellow guest did.
Even if your rail ticket includes the ferry, on certain sailings in both directions, they restrict the number of passengers who are able to travel. On these sailings foot passengers must register in advance (Check restricted sailings) if you don't get a boarding pass specific to these sailings you may not be allowed on. Do it early as there is a limited number available.
To get to Lymington Pier get the train to Brockenhurst:
Then get the branch line to Lymington Pier. This is the last stop on the line (don't get out of the train at Lymington Town).
At Lymington Pier continue along the platform and the ferry will be directly ahead.
Annoyingly they only let foot passengers on after all the cars have driven on.
So you will have to wait here until your tickets are checked and you are allowed to walk along this covered walkway and onto the boat:
| Once on the boat I try to get up to the cafe as quickly as possible as the seats get taken very quickly. The cafe is at the back of the boat going out at at the front on the return journey (that is the north or mainland end). There is a lift but you have to cross the car deck to get to it so its quicker to go up the stairs if you can with your cases. |  |
| At Yarmouth walk dow this ramp: |  |
Walk straight ahead here:
Bus from Yarmouth to Freshwater Bay
The bus stop is then on the right. There is a waiting room and in summer there is sometimes someone in the kiosk to advise you which bus to catch.
In summer there are open top buses called Needles Breezer, if they are running this is a direct route from Yarmouth to Freshwater Bay and so is much quicker (they are classed as tourist buses so your free bus pass wont work on the Needles Breezer).
The bus stop is called Freshwater Bay Esplanade even though its not on the seafront but directly outside the HF house:
So get off the bus just after the seafront for buses going to Alum Bay or Breezer and get off the bus just before the seafront for buses going to Newport.
Winter season when Needles Breezer not running
Route 7 takes you from Yarmouth to Freshwater, you can then get route 12 from Freshwater to Freshwater Bay. Bus 12 is not very frequent so you may find it quicker to walk from Freshwater.
This picture is taken from the ferry (the ferry in the background must be out of service).
At Yarmouth, as you leave the ferry, the buses are just outside.
The island buses are operated by Southern Vectis. Newport is the hub for the islands bus routes, if you want to go between the east and west of the island you will need to change at Newport. Generally on the east of the island the buses are very frequent, on the west of the island (where Freshwater Bay is) the buses are not so frequent.
If you arrive too early at Freshwater Bay House then there is a nice cafe at the nearby Dimbola Museum which has lots of early photograph taken by pioneer photographer Julia Margaret Cameron.
Wightlink Route - Portsmouth Harbour to Ryde Pier Head
Another Wightlink route is Portsmouth Harbour to Ryde Pier Head (22 minutes)
This is a high speed catamaran (FastCat). I have traveled on it many years ago so it may have improved since I used it.
When I traveled it had lots of rows of seats (like a doctors waiting room). It was full so there was no choice where to sit. There were few seats with a view out of the window. Basically it was fast but not very enjoyable.
When you get to Ryde you first have to get along the pier, either by walking (about 1/2 mile) or by catching a train. Then there are frequent busses from Ryde to Newport. Then the number 12 bus goes from Newport to Freshwater Bay, this bus is not very frequent so check the timetable.
There is also a hovercraft to Ryde. This goes straight to the beach so you don't have to walk along the pier.
Red Funnel
Another ferry company to the Isle of Wight is Red Funnel:
- Red Jet - Southampton to West Cowes 28 minutes
- Red Funnel - Southampton to East Cowes 60 minutes
Other Pictures
| This page is about getting to Freshwater Bay House by Public Transport. For other information about staying at Freshwater Bay House see the page here. |
Other Documents on this site
Click on the following for more information
| Former HF Houses | |
|---|---|
| Conwy (1914- 2011) |  |
| Newlands (1914- 1987) |  |
| Swanage (1947- 1995) |  |
| Isle of Arran (1925- ) |  |
| Scarborough (1954- 1998) |  |
| Lulworth |  |
| Beddgelert |  |
| New Inns |  |
| Penrith |  |
| Milford-on-Sea |  |
About This SiteHere is some information I have gathered together about getting to and walking from HF houses when leaving the car at home. On these pages I have also put some history about former HF houses I have visited. The information here is based on my visits to HF houses over the years. It may be out of date so don't rely on anything here without checking. If you find any errors why not let others know by putting a post on the HF Holiday Fans ( unofficial) Facebook forum. I will try to quote such posts here so they don't get lost. This is information I have discovered over the years which would have been useful to know before. Unfortunately the travel information on the HF website, for getting to houses by public transport, is poor. I think it would be better if the information on this page were on the HF website. |
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