Your Journey Into Ryde is a community book created by Historic Ryde Society containing three interesting walks that will introduce you to the town of Ryde, in the Isle of Wight (UK). Read an enlightening story about Ryde's Royal associations, its history and heritage, and details about the town's growth and development. Extract from the Introduction: Welcome to Ryde! The history of the town as you see it today dates from around 1800. The shoreline fishing community of Lower Ryde and the hilltop farming community, Upper Ryde, were joined in 1801 with the formation of Union Street, across a field known as Node Close. Union Street was named to commemorate the union of Britain and Ireland, as well as the joining of the two settlements. Prior to the completion of Ryde promenade pier in 1814, the oldest pier in the United Kingdom, access to the town was cumbersome, as experienced by Henry Fielding, in 1752. He described his arrival thus: 'was hoisted into a small boat, and being rowed near the shore, was taken up by two sailors, who waded me through the mud and placed me on the land'. The three routes described in this book (East, Central and West) will introduce you to the development of Ryde and its major buildings, many of which survive unaltered since the Victorian era. Shop fronts may have changed the appearance of some buildings at ground level, so don't forget to look up! This book was created by members of Historic Ryde Society on a Beachy Books Community Book Publishing Project, curated, delivered and published by Philip Bell, author and publisher at Beachy Books. Historic Ryde Society is a Registered Charity, No. 1153947.