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10 Things To Do In Bembridge, St Helens and Seaview (2022 guide)

Bembridge, St Helens and Seaview are pleasant villages on the east side of the Isle of Wight.

They often get bundled in with nearby Ryde but they have a completely different feel. They're all quite posh places with lots of whopping great houses on the seafronts as well as some family friendly beaches, a few small attractions and several places to eat out.

If you'd like to stay in Bembridge, Seaview or St Helens, your options include:

a holiday cottage in Bembridge from HolidayCottages.co.uk or Hoseasons
a big hotel with good reviews called Warner Leisure's Bembridge Coast Hotel and a smaller hotel which is famous for its food called the Seaview Hotel. There are other hotels in the area on Expedia.
big family-friendly caravan holiday parks including Whitecliff Bay and Nodes Point or a quieter lodge park called St Helen's Holiday Resort.
camping at Nodes Point and Carpenters Farm or glamping at Whitecliff Bay or Priory Bay.

Anyway, without further waffle, here are 10 things to do in Bembridge, St Helens and Seaview:

Whitecliff Bay is a popular holiday park in Bembridge...

Beach at Priory Bay and St Helens Isle of Wight

...whilst Priory Bay is a fantastic beach on a sunny day

1. Beaches in Bembridge, St HElens and Seaview

The main reason we go to Bembridge, St Helens and Seaview are for the beaches.

They don't have the huge great cliffs and isolation of the West Wight, but there's a good choice of wide open beaches with shallow water and some nice isolated sandy spots. Our favourite ones are:

St Helens Beach is a popular beach which is sort of sandy and sort of shingly. It's popular with dog walkers and kayakers and has a nice outlook across a busy section of the Solent. You can cough up for parking on the seafront if there's space or there's a National Trust car park hidden round the back which is free for members.

If you want to get your trunks wet, you can hire watersports stuff like kayaks and standup paddleboards from Tackt Isle. The area surrounding St Helens is called The Duver, which is a former golf course which is now looked after by the National Trust. If you want to live the dream, you can even go horseriding on the beach at St Helens with Sally's Riding School.

St Helens Beach is popular and is good for paddling or kayaking

Whitecliff Bay is one of the most picturesque beaches on the Isle of Wight. If you've got a bit of imagination and an inability to feel cold then you can probably persuade yourself you are on a Greek Island. The downside is that it's a right pain to get to, unless you're staying at Whitecliff Bay Holiday Park or Sandhills Holiday Park.

Whitecliff Bay is pretty but is not easy to get to

Priory Bay is in my top 5 Isle of Wight beaches (this list is subject to change, unlike the laminated one Ross had in Friends). It is gloriously sandy with a shady backdrop and shallow water for paddling. I've swum here a few times when the tide is in. The downside is that it's difficult to access and requires a walk through the woods which is difficult with four children, six bags and a cool box.

Cyclist near Priory Bay on the Isle of Wight

Priory Bay is lined with trees and is a sandy spot

Bembridge Beach is brilliant for rockpooling at low tide but it's not so good for swimming. It's popular with dog walkers and it's another one that has horseriding on the beach with Sally's Riding School. There's a lifeboat station, so you can stroll along the walkway and admire the views. There are gaps along the railings, so hold on to small children.

Bembridge Beach has a lifeboat station and is good for rockpooling

Seagrove Bay isn't one of my favourite beaches but it's not bad at low tide. It's got a sea wall so we've visited before with a wheelchair and watched the boats sailing past. Parking nearby isn't easy.

2. Bembridge Lifeboat Station

Bembridge's beach has a whopping great walkway which leads to a big lifeboat. The station is sometimes open for tours and talks from local volunteers. It is a free day out, although you might like to give a few pennies to the RNLI whilst you're there.

On certain days they do practice launches which involve releasing the lifeboat and letting it slide down a slope into the sea. The Bembridge RNLI Facebook page has updates on when the test runs are taking place.

The lifeboat station at Bembridge is sometimes open for visitors

Looking for accommodation? Check out our caravan holiday park guide

3. the Isle of Wight Coastal Path and Treasure Trails

Some sections of the Isle of Wight's coastal path for walkers are a little more inland than you might expect (Ryde to East Cowes most notably). However, the section covering Seaview, St Helens and Bembridge hugs the coastline pretty closely and gives some pleasant views. There's a map provided by Visit Isle of Wight which starts in Ryde and ends in Sandown.

There's a risk of footpath closures along the route, as it does suffer from landslips. The Isle of Wight Council website includes a list of current closures.

If you're a cyclist then the Red Squirrel Trail website suggests a route of 4.5 miles from Ryde to St Helens. It's a bit more inland in places. Another popular cycle route in the area goes along an old train line between St Helens and Brading. It's only two miles and goes near to a nature reserve.

If you're trying to drag a child out for fresh air then a Treasure Trail or Geocaching might be the answer. Treasure Trails cost about £10 for a set of clues which you then use to explore a local area and see some local landmarks. The Bembridge Treasure Trail is a bit longer than most other trails on the Island but you can cycle it in a couple of hours. Meanwhile, Geocaching requires you to download an app to your phone which reveals that there are dozens of containers hidden around the Isle of Wight (and the rest of the World) for you to discover. It's free to start off and then you can pay extra to access more locations.

Isle of Wight coastal path sign in Bembridge

The coastal path is more coastal if you stick to feet rather than wheels

4. Bembridge Windmill

I'm going to stick my neck out and describe Bembridge Windmill as the Isle of Wight's best windmill. If the National Trust is reading, they have my permission to put that quote on a billboard near the ferry to bring in the crowds.

Nay-sayers and Negative Nigels will point out that Bembridge Windmill is the only windmill left on the Isle of Wight but let's not listen to them.

It is about 300 years old and is a small and charming attraction which will take you about an hour to visit, or a couple of hours if you bring a clipboard and turn it into a school trip. You can climb up some rickety steps to the top and read about the history of it.

National Trust members get in free.

My favourite of all the Isle of Wight's windmills

5. Bembridge Fort and Culver Down

Culver Down is a windy spot with terrific views across a big chunk of the Isle of Wight. There's a pub at the top called the Culver Haven Inn and walks with good views.

Bembridge Fort is one of many forts built around the edge of the Isle of Wight. It is politely described as 'unrestored' by the National Trust, which looks after it.

It's not really the sort of place to let your children run free, but history fans might like to know that they offer tours about once a week (at the time of writing).

6. Watersports

Tackt-Isle in St Helens has a good choice of watersports during the warmer months. It's a good location for tame watersports as the sea around the East Wight tends to be less choppy and shallower than a lot of the West Wight.

You can either just hire some equipment such as kayaks or paddleboards or you can sign up for a lesson in sailing, windsurfing or attempt a yoga lesson on a paddleboard.

Not exactly taken on the Isle of Wight, but you get the idea

7. Isle of Wight Distillery

Grown ups might like a visit to the Isle of Wight Distillery, which is home to Mermaid Gin and the Mermaid Bar.

It's on the outskirts of Seaview and offers tours and talks.

There was much excitement when a bottle of Mermaid Gin was spotted sitting on a shelf behind James Bond in No Time To Die. Don't let anyone tell you that nothing exciting happens on the Isle of Wight...

8. Rockpooling at Bembridge

I reckon that Bembridge beach is the best place on the Isle of Wight for picking up crabs (Ed: *raises eyebrows*).

At low tide there's a huge great area exposed where you can lift up rocks and children can squeal at the sight of a creature the size of a 10 pence piece.

We've also been crabbing at Freshwater Bay and Steephill Cove at low tide, but Bembridge is where we've had most success. You can usually buy nets from the RNLI shop at Bembridge beach.

Read the blog about a rockpooling trip to Bembridge.

A successful rockpooling day out at Bembridge (the crab is bigger than it looks, honest)

9. Downs Breezer Open Top Bus

There are two main open top bus tours on the Isle of Wight - and one of them passes through Bembridge and St Helens. It costs about £12 for an adult or £30 for a family. They last for 24 hours, so you can do both routes over two days if you're keen.

The East Wight open top bus is called the Downs Breezer which does a circle through Ryde, Fishbourne, Wootton, Sandown, Bembridge and St Helens. It has stops at a couple of popular places to stay (Away Resorts Whitecliff Bay Holiday Park and Parkdean Resorts Nodes Point Holiday Park).

My controversial opinion is that the very best scenery is offered by the Isle of Wight's other main open top bus tour. It's called the Needles Breezer and circles round the West Wight (Freshwater Bay, The Needles, Yarmouth and the Military Road).

However, the Downs Breezer has lovely views in the Brading Down section of the route. From the top deck, you can see across both sides of the road with Sandown and Shanklin in one direction and the mainland in the other direction. The Downs Breezer has the big advantage of linking together several attractions including Robin Hill Country Park, Sandown Pier, Isle of Wight Steam Railway and Quarr Abbey.

It's also worth saying than an open top bus is considerably more fun than sitting downstairs on a normal bus which plods round a housing estate and stinks of diesel. From the top deck, you get a considerable breeze, so bring a jumper even if it's a warm day. The bumpier bits of the journey feel like the kind of thing you'd pay three tokens for at a funfair.

The Downs Breezer is a fun way to get to the Isle of Wight Steam Railway

10. Steyne Road Playground

We've toured many of the Isle of Wight's playgrounds, offering them the same level of scrutiny usually given by hotel inspectors and restaurant critics. Swings are checked for squeakiness, roundabouts are given a rating for resistance and zip lines are thoroughly tested, even if there's a queue of children behind me.

I've concluded that the best playground in the Bembridge, St Helens and Seaview area is the one on Steyne Road in Bembridge. It's not usually very busy, it's a good size and it has quite modern equipment. There's also an outdoor gym and a playing field for running around. When we visited, it was free to park which is the icing on the cake. If you're looking for the playground, the nearest postcode is PO35 5SL.

If you know of a better playground in the area, feel free to get in touch or read our toddlers guide for more playground advice.

Our favourite playground in the area is on Steyne Road in Bembridge

11. The UK's oldest phone box

You might assume that a tourism guide suggesting a visit to a phonebox is scraping the barrel somewhat.

Well, you're absolutely most-definitely wrong (Ed: The lady doth protest too much, methinks).

Bembridge's town centre phone box is the oldest working phonebox in the UK, making it an historic attraction up there with Osborne House, Carisbrooke Castle and the pyramids of Egypt.

When we visited it wouldn't actually accept our coins but we still enjoyed the theatre of it all.

A notable historic attraction

12. Bembridge Heritage Centre

Bembridge has its own Heritage Centre, which puts it at loggerheads with Brighstone in the West Wight to see which Island village has the best micro-sized museum.

This bitter rivalry may only exist in my head, but I am working it up into a screenplay starring Julie Walters and Judi Dench starring as rival museum managers.

It is free to visit but it does have limited opening hours so check the website or call ahead.

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