Rocks and Yachts at Binnel Bay

We've made more of an effort to visit the Isle of Wight's quieter beaches this year. I much prefer a bit of space to myself on the beach but with young children I'd given in to the convenience and ease of parking on Shanklin Esplanade.

Now the children are able to cope with a 10 minute walk without complaining too much, we're getting a bit more adventurous and headed for Binnel Bay in St Lawrence. 

The other reason, of course, is that quieter beaches are preferable during a pandemic. 

We parked on Old Park Road in St Lawrence and then walked down to Molly Attrill Pottery. Round the back of the buildings is a footpath which leads down to the beach, past several rather nice looking houses including a massive glass house and a former bunker. 

The footpath is quite narrow and the last few metres requires you to hold onto a rope and climb down a bit of a drop. We managed it with a couple of young children with a bit of lifting from myself and regular shouts of "be careful" from Mrs Guru. I wouldn't want to do it with a pushchair or anyone who was a bit wobbly on uneven ground.

From the car I'd say it took us 15 minutes to get there and 20 minutes to get back.

We had the beach to ourselves at first before it became completely overcrowded and spoilt by one other person. Bear in mind this was a sunny day in early August and yet we still had a beach more-or-less to ourselves. 

There's no shade and no toilets and it's not really a swimming beach but you can sit on a log and listen to the stones being dragged up and down the beach.  

Our visit also happened to coincide with a yacht race called Race The Wight so we had the added spectacle of hundreds of yachts sailing past. Not bad, eh?