Isle of Wight, English Coast

Around half of the area of the Isle of Wight has been designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The AONB includes the Hamstead and Tennyson Heritage Coasts, and the chalk downlands.

The Tennyson Heritage Coast named after Lord Tennyson (Poet Laureate) on the southern coastline starts at Totland on the Solent and ends at the huge chalk cliffs at Freshwater Bay where Lord Tennyson lived. Beyond this are the famous Needles stacks and lighthouse and the multi-coloured sandstone cliffs at Alum Bay.

The Hamstead Heritage Coast and it's salt marshes and mud flats on the northern Solent shore stretches through Bouldnor Forest, the Newtown River estuary and Thorness bay, near Cowes. This area is especially rich in fossils.

The town of Cowes is of course world famous for 'Cowes Week' every August with it's international yacht racing and events.

Blackgang Chine is a popular attraction on the South coast, it gets it's name from the narrow coves in the Isle's cliffs known as 'chines' which were historically used by smugglers. Other Isle of Wight attractions include the sandy beaches of Compton Bay, Ryde, Shanklin, and Sandown.