It's the final plank down as Ryde Pier's new walkway prepares to open

Oct 12, 2023

Works to install a pedestrian walkway on the UK's oldest pier, on the Isle of Wight, have been completed.

Ferry firm Wightlink has confirmed it is due to open to the public this summer.

The County Press has asked whether it will be ready in time for Isle of Wight Festival 2023.

The new walkway, which links Ryde Pier Head and Ryde Esplanade, replaces the old tramway.

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Built in 1814, Ryde Pier is the second-longest seaside pier in the country at half a mile.

The walkway has been built on the Victorian cast-iron piles of the old tramway, next to the railway pier. Horse-drawn trams first carried holiday makers along the Pier when the tramway opened in 1864, then steam, electric and petrol-driven trams were used.

Trams were withdrawn in 1969.

Wightlink's Head of Port Operations Dean Murphy was on hand to watch the final screws being driven into the last decking board.

He said: "Strollers now have their own path, away from cars and bicycles, making Ryde Pier more pleasurable for people who want to walk by the sea or travel on foot to and from Wightlink's FastCats.

"New shelters and seats will offer everyone a chance to relax and enjoy the beautiful views across the Solent."

Staff at Knights Brown removed more than 350 tonnes of old steelwork, replacing them with new steel, and installed almost 3,000 decking boards (more than two kilometres of greenheart timber) and 1.5 km of decorative handrails.

(Drone footage by Photography Rue, captured in May).

The works form part of a £10 million project by the Isle of Wight Council, as part of the Government's Transforming Cities Fund to upgrade Ryde Transport Interchange.

It includes improvements to Ryde Esplanade railway station and the bus station, and enhanced cycle-links.

In separate works, Network Rail is carrying out works to strengthen the railway pier for the next 60 years.

It was recently revealed that works on the railway line have been delayed and would not be finished in time for the Isle of Wight Festival.