Colin Crosby Heritage Tours

Ryde

Ryde is a popular seaside resort on the Isle of Wight, 5 miles from Sandown and overlooking the Solent and Spithead.

It is the most important arrival point for visitors to the island from the mainland.

All Saints Church, built by Gilbert Scott in 1872, has a prominent spire which can be seen from the seafront at Southsea.

Ryde Pier, half a mile long, was the first of the pleasure piers to be built, in 1814. Ryde Pier Head Station is the terminus of the railway line to Shanklin, the only detached part of the British Rail network. The line was laid in the 1930s, and uses former London Underground trains.

Passenger ferries arrive at the Pier Head from Portsmouth, five miles away, and there is a hovercraft service from Southsea.

The Beatles` song "Ticket to Ride" is often jokingly misrepresented as "Ticket to Ryde".