Bonchurch • Saturday & Sunday 10.30am

Step back into Ventnor and Bonchurch's colourful literary past and discover more about the writers and poets who have made their home on the Isle of Wight's south coast.

Photographer David White, a keen walker and engaging raconteur, will be leading the Isle of Arts literary walks on Saturday 16 April and, if there is sufficient demand, on Sunday and 17 April.

The walk will set off from East Dene, in Bonchurch - home to the young Algernon Swinburne.

David will take you on a literary journey past the homes and former haunts of poets John Keats, Edmund Peel (cousin to prime minister Robert Peel), and John Sterling.

During the walk you will learn why prolific novelist Henry de Vere Stacpoole donated the pond to Bonchurch village and hear more about local folklore that Charles Dickens based his character Miss Haversham on a fellow Bonchurch resident Margaret Catherine Dick who was jilted on her wedding day.

Taking about two hours including stops, the walk begins at 10.30am with coffee at East Dene.

The cost is £5 per person.

Ring on 01983 853445 to book your place and pay on the day.

Lunches (not included) are available afterwards at East Dene.

Image: © Used with the kind permission of Isle of Wight Historical Postcards