Circumnavigating
an island is always a rewarding experience and the path around
the Isle of Wight's spectacular coastline is especially
satisfying. The variety of the coastal scenery is amazing, with
towering stark white cliffs, the spectacular chalk stacks of ‘The
Needles', the multi-coloured sands of Alum Bay, wooded ‘chines',
golden beaches, dramatic landslipped bluffs, sheltered undercliffs,
tidal creeks, estuaries, mudflats and salt marsh.
Along the
trail you'll find sleepy thatched villages, lively seaside
resorts and bustling harbours. Other features of interest include
a fossil forest; Appley Tower, built to celebrate the sailing
of the First Fleet to Botany Bay in 1787; Yarmouth Castle, built
by Henry VIII to defend the port from attacks by the French; Palmerston-era
forts like the spectacularly sited Needles Old Battery, built
in 1862 in response to the threat of a French invasion; St Catherine's
Oratory and ‘Pepper Pot' lighthouse, built as an act
of contrition by a wrecker who unwisely stole a quantity of religious
wine from a local shipwreck in 1313; Quarr Abbey, the remains
of the island's earliest Christian relics; and Osborne House
which was built in the 1840's by Prince Albert and Thomas
Cubitt as a summer retreat for the Royal Family. Following Albert's
death, the desolate Queen Victoria spent much of her time here
until her death in 1901. Since then, the house has remained virtually
unaltered, offering a unique insight into Victoria's family
life. |

The Needles Photography Don French
© Isle of Wight Tourism

Alum Bay Photography Don French
© Isle of Wight Tourism |