Wheelchair and pushchair friendly walks on the Isle of Wight - #3 Totland to Colwell

Totland and Colwell are two similar sort of beaches in the West Wight. They've both got a couple of places to eat, a toilet and parking near the beach. They offer glistening seas on a sunny day, usually calm waters and plenty of opportunities for people watching.

​The walk between them is only about half a mile, so you can be there and back in 20 minutes if you move at a good pace. Of course, you might prefer to amble along, admire The Needles and smell the sea air. The last time I visited there were hundreds of tiny fish visible in the water.

I am inclined to start this short walk in Colwell, as there is sometimes free on street parking

The parking in Totland is all pay and display, whereas you might find a bit of free parking on the road on a quiet day in Colwell. For that reason, I'd suggest parking in Colwell.

This one works with pushchairs and wheelchairs but it's also a good route for a short run.

The main advisory is that there are no railings and there's a sizeable drop down below. If you're walking with a pushchair, three toddlers and a dog then you might find it a little tense.

The route is pretty obvious - head left as you face the beach in Colwell and keep going until you run out of pavement. ​

There are no railings and there's a big drop off the sea wall

Halfway along you'll find the dramatic site of a landslide which happened in 2012. The aerial photos are really quite something.

Rather than removing all the debris and rebuilding the entire sea wall, the decision was made to construct a 'make do and mend' path over the top of the landslide. This was obviously a money-saving plan but it seems to be doing the trick and it makes for an interesting feature.​

In the distance is the site of the landslide in 2012 which closed the path for a couple of years

As a result, the walk now has a bit of a climb and a gravel section which isn't quite as smooth as the rest. 

The photo below shows the path and will hopefully give you an idea of whether you'll be able to cope with it (the railings on the right give a clue as to how steep it is). Honestly, I think most wheelchairs will be fine with it but I obviously can't offer a guarantee.

The route now goes over the top of the landslide but it's not a very steep hill

Once you get back to Colwell, there are a couple of places where you can gorge yourself on ice creams and coffees.

Other Walks In The Trilogy:

• Wheelchair friendly walk from Gurnard to Cowes
• Wheelchair friendly walk from Ventnor to Bonchurch