Our 2025 sell-out performed walks are back!
STORIES UNDERFOOT 2026
Join us again with Woolf in Freshwater, Wilde in Ryde, and Mew in Newport, plus a brand new walk: Swinburne in Bonchurch.
We are a proud partner of Creative Island’s CAN YOU HEAR US? project, a programme of creativity and culture taking place across every part of the Isle of Wight
Walk in the footsteps of history with Stories Underfoot. StoneCrabs Theatre invites you to join four LGBTQ+ historical figures as they return to the Isle of Wight.
Part tour, part performance, these promenade walks are immersive experiences that uncover the hidden heritage of the island and shine a light on untold stories.
Each walk has been produced by the island’s creative community, from its script to its performance. Using inspiration from the Isle of Wight’s history, this series aims to encourage people to look at their local area in new ways and to feel a deeper connection with it.
The walks now include a Whisper system, audio headsets which allow the audience to easily follow and hear the performance.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
WOOLF IN FRESHWATER
SUNDAY 17 MAY | 10.30AM
Join one of English literature’s most enduring and ground-breaking female writers, Virginia Woolf, on a walk around Freshwater.
Woolf finds herself transported to the Isle of Wight in 2026. Remembering childhood holidays with her aunt, the celebrated Victorian photographer Julia Margaret Cameron who lived at Dimbola Lodge, Woolf takes us with her on a trail of memories. With echoes of her iconic, shapeshifting and trans-cendant character Orlando, Woolf reminisces on the women who influenced her and her work.
The route begins at the Wishing Well outside the Albion Hotel at 10.30am on Sunday 17 May. We walk with Woolf up past Hazelhurst towards St Agnes Church. After a brief stop there, we turn back to Dimbola Lodge and into the gallery for a glimpse of Julia’s photographs of her famous friends, including the Poet Laureate Alfred Lord Tennyson who lived at the nearby Farringford Estate.
WILDE IN RYDE
SUNDAY 14 JUNE | 10.30AM
Curious islanders are invited to join the celebrated playwright, Oscar Wilde, on a guided walk in his former footsteps in Ryde.
In 1884, Wilde delivered a lecture ‘On Dress’ at Ryde Town Hall as part of an international speaking tour. Famous and infamous in equal measure, Wilde drew crowds who came to be entertained but stayed to be informed. Much of what the great man had to say still speaks to us today, albeit with our far less formal attire. 140 years on, the spectre of Wilde still haunts Union Street.
The route begins outside the Town Hall in Lind Street at 10.30am on Sunday 14 June. We then weave down Union Street past Hughes & Mullins, royal photographers who captured an iconic image of Wilde. We saunter along the esplanade to a final stop at Appley Tower where the emboldened may climb to the top for panoramic views of Puckpool Park and the Solent.
SWINBURNE IN BONCHURCH
THURSDAY 23 JULY | 10.30AM
Ticket sales to be announced
Step into the past for an immersive promenade through Bonchurch with Victorian England’s most controversial writer, Algernon Swinburne.
We invite you to take a peek into the life of Algernon Swinburne, the controversial poet, playwright and novelist.
Awakening in the grounds of St Boniface Church in 2026, Swinburne leads us on a winding journey of self-reflection. From the heights of East Dene, through the quiet shadows of Old St Boniface, and down to the sea that inspired his most iconic verses, Algernon shares his complex legacy. Join him as he grapples with his relationship with the church, his sexuality, and the rigid society that shaped and challenged him. Don’t just hear the history; walk it
We meet outside St Boniface Church at 10.30am on Thursday 23 July.
MEW IN NEWPORT
SATURDAY 12 SEPTEMBER | 10.30AM
Join Charlotte Mew, a remarkable poet who is now rarely celebrated, on an immersive walking tour in Newport exploring her life and works.
Mew has returned to her childhood holiday destination of Newport where her family once owned a farm and inn. Though at first bewildered why she has come back, her spirit treads old paths and reflects on her mortal experiences. Through these memories of her ultimately tragic life, her poetry is given the recognition it deserves and Mew finds her own resolution.
The route begins at the Yellowfin Propeller opposite Quay Arts at 11am on Saturday 12 September. We meander up to St Thomas Square to then stop briefly at Waterstones, once the Bugle Inn, owned by Mew’s family. The walk will conclude with a special visit to the Museum of Island History at the Guildhall.