Description:
This coast stretches along the northwestern
(Solent) shore of the Isle of Wight from Yarmouth
harbour to Thorness Bay, near Cowes. Much of
the Isle of Wight is administered as an Ara
of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), and Hamstead
Heritage Coast is included in that designation.
The coast itself is a region of salt marshes
and mud flats backed by low cliffs of clay.
Flocks of redshanks, oyster catchers, and ringed
plovers visit the coast regularly.
At
Bouldnor, near Hamstead, these cliffs are especially
rich in fossils - it has been claimed that this
exposed deposit of Oligocene fossils embedded
in the clay is the richest on earth.
Newtown was a busy port in the early medieval
period, eclipsing its more famous rivals Newport
and Yarmouth in size and importance, but a raid
by the French in 1377 razed the town, and it
lapsed into peaceful obscurity. The Newtown
River estuary is now a Nature Reserve owned
by the National Trust.
Area
Countryside attractions: Isle of Wight AONB
Almost exactly half of the area of the Isle
of Wight has been designated an Area of Outstanding
Natural Beauty (AONB), a recognition of its
scenic and ecological value. The AONB takes
in the Hamstead and Tennyson Heritage Coasts,
and the lovely chalk downlands than extend into
the interior of the island.
Tennyson Heritage Coast:
The coast begins at Totland on the Solent, and
stretches along the southwest shore of the Isle
of Wight nearly to Ventnor. Along the way it
passes the dramatic chalk stack of The Needles
promontory and skirts shingle beaches and high
cliffs - and a petrified forest of fossilized
conifers! More
...
The Hamstead Trail:
This walking path runs for 8 miles from the
cliffs at Newtown Bay to Brook Bay on the southwest
coast. It passes through open countryside and
rolling fields on its way to the coast. The
Isle of Wight Council (see below) produces a
trail leaflet for walkers.
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