| Sandown Bay | |
|---|---|
 Sandown Bay at dusk; looking south-west fromCulver Down | |
  Sandown Bay Location within theIsle of Wight | |
| Civil parish | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| UK Parliament | |
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Sandown Bay is a broad open bay which stretches for much of the length of theIsle of Wight's southeastern coast. It extends8+1⁄2 miles (13.7 km) fromCulver Down, nearYaverland in the northeast of the Island, to just south ofShanklin, near the village ofLuccombe in the southwest.[1] At Luccombe, the bay is separated fromThe Undercliff by a large headland from whichUpper Ventnor sits atop. The towns of Shanklin,Lake andSandown are on the bay's coast, while Luccombe and Upper Ventnor feature panoramic views across both Sandown Bay to the East and the Undercliff to the southwest. Due to the bay being relatively sheltered from offshore winds it is often used as temporary anchorage point for boats,[2] including largecargo ships, before continuing east towardsContinental Europe, or north towardsThe Solent.
In the past, the bay had significant military importance as the wide beach offered a good landing-point for an armed invasion of the Island. To protect against a French or Spanish invasion,Henry VIII builtSandown Castle in the centre of the bay as part of his chain ofcoastal defences to protect the South-Coast of England. However, the castle was still under construction during theFrench invasion of the Isle of Wight of 1545 when it was overwhelmed.[2] This castle fell into disrepair due tocoastal erosion and was demolished in 1631, though the remains of the foundations of the castle are still visible along the shore at low tide.[3] Sandown Fort, also known as theDiamond Fort after itsarrow-headed bastions, this was built using the remains of the old castle further up the coast.[2]
As a result of its sandy beach and good weather, Sandown and Shanklin grew rapidly in theVictorian era as tourists from across both the Island and the country came to enjoy the seaside thanks to new the transportation connections of the railway andpaddle steamers.[4] This transformed a relatively sparsely populated area into a series of bustlingseaside resorts. New developments included a longpromenade, many large seafront hotels and the 875 footSandown Pier (originally 360 ft when opened in 1879).[5] A lot ofVictorian-influenced architecture can still be seen throughout the bay.
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Sandown Bay is an excellent example of aconcordant coastline and has well-developed sandy beaches stretching all the way from Shanklin to Culver Down due toLongshore drift.[6] The bay has over 5 miles of unbroken sandy beach, making it one of the longest beaches in the British Isles.[7] The area has weaksandstone cliffs which vary from 30 to 130 feet (10 to 40 m), these have suffered from erosion and instability in the past. The risk of cliff-failures affecting populated tourist areas led theIsle of Wight Council to commission a report and an extensive structural stabilisation programme in 1988.[8]
The bay is best viewed fromCulver Down to the north. TheIsle of Wight Coastal Path follows the whole bay-line either along the cliff top to the south of Sandown or the concreteseawall north of Sandown.[9]
The bay itself has a seabed consisting of a mixture ofsand,shells andgravel with shallow waters out till about one-quarter of a nautical mile (1,500 ft; 460 m).[2] The total area of the bay is 5 square miles (13 km2).[7]
The economy of the bay is dominated by retail and hospitality sectors due to a large amount oftourism it receives, an estimate of 500,000 visitors annually. However, the average earnings of people living around the bay are approximately 10% below thenational average.[7] A localaction-plan, theBay Area Action Plan, has been set up in 2016 for the development of the bay for the next 15 years. It plans to get local and national funding with the aim to improve public spaces and increase the level of tourism.[7] The bay has a combined total of 21,374 inhabitants.[10]
The outer bay is used as a sheltered anchorage. Ships requiring salvage have sometimes been towed there, such as the tanker Tarpenbeck in 1979. The wreck of asalvage tug (theHarry Sharman) which assisted the stricken tankerPacific Glory in 1970,[11] was visible for some decades at low tide below Culver Cliffs.