The IOW LDWA Group was re-formed in April 2013 after a seventeen-year lapse. Led by Ventnor author and former Royal Navy Warrant Officer David ‘Rowdy’ Yates (originally from Waltham St Lawrence, in Berkshire), the new group had already been completing a wide range of long distance (mostly coastal) walks, following the 2009 publication of David’s second book Beaches Bars and Blisters of the Isle of Wight.

Our group seeks to combine longer distance walking with sightseeing of our beautiful Island, and a chance to meet like-minded people. Walks cover distances from 10 to the 73 miles around the coastal path, and a 100-mile walk is being planned. Most of the walks are quite casual, with lots of beaches and bars. Other walks leave less time for making sandcastles!