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Eaglehead and Bloodstone Copses

Isle of Wight geography stubsSites of Special Scientific Interest on the Isle of Wight
Eaglehead Copse, Isle of Wight, UK
Eaglehead Copse, Isle of Wight, UK

Eaglehead and Bloodstone Copses is a 10.3-hectare (25-acre) Site of Special Scientific Interest which is south of Ashey on the Isle of Wight. The site was notified in 1987 for its biological value. This area of woodland follows a stream at the foot of Ashey Down and is owned by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, who manage it to encourage red squirrels and other local wildlife. The stream is said to contain stones stained red by the blood of a battle between "Saxons and Danes", although this is said to be due to red algae, although it is difficult to actually find any. The position is quite a likely one for such a battle as the valley through which the stream flows forms a defensive barrier against any force attempting to attack Carisbrooke from a landing in Bembridge Harbour. It could equally be the site of the battle between Saxons and Jutes in 686 CE where King Arwald was killed by King Caedwalla. In 1995 a Cruciform Brooch was brought to I.O.W Archaeological Centre. It was found at Bloodstone Copse. It had come from an Early Anglo-Saxon cemetery, or possible a secondary burial of an Anglo Saxon, at a Bronze Age cemetery which was located upslope of the find location.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Eaglehead and Bloodstone Copses (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Eaglehead and Bloodstone Copses
Brading Down Road,

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N 50.686 ° E -1.177 °
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Eaglehead & Bloodstone Copses Nature Reserve

Brading Down Road
PO36 0ER
England, United Kingdom
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Eaglehead Copse, Isle of Wight, UK
Eaglehead Copse, Isle of Wight, UK
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Nearby Places

Ashey
Ashey

Ashey is a hamlet and former civil parish, now in the parish of Havenstreet and Ashey, on the outskirts of Ryde, on the Isle of Wight, England. In 1931 the parish had a population of 1499. The parish of Ashey was formed on 31 December 1894 from part of Ryde, on 1 April 1933 the parish was abolished and merged with Ryde and Newchurch.Ashey is the site every year of an amateur horse race known as the "Isle of Wight Grand National and Ashey Scurry". There are four races that include jumping over fences. It is open to horses and ponies of all sizes and breeds. Riders of all ages enter. It includes a beer tent and betting. There was a racecourse opened in Ashey in 1884. It included a grandstand as well. It burned down in 1929 and was never rebuilt. There is a railway station in Ashey, the Ashey railway station, which reopened in 1991 and is between the stations at Havenstreet and Smallbrook Junction. At one time, there was a separate station that serviced the Ashey Racecourse. There is a manor in East Ashey called the East Ashey Manor. Ashey Down is the site of some ancient burial mounds. The summit of Ashey Down is a good viewpoint and this fact has been gratefully accepted by sailors in their use of the solid, white stump - the Ashey sea mark - which was constructed in 1735. In a variation on the medieval beacon system the Navy built four semaphore stations at key high points on the Island. These relayed to the admiral at Portsmouth details of all shipping seen off the island, and the final messages all passed through Ashey. There is a story that in 1969, a Dr. White of St Helens and his wife saw some mysterious lights when driving by Ashey Down at night.

Brading Down
Brading Down

Brading Down is a chalk down southwest of Brading, Isle of Wight. It is a prominent hill which overlooks Sandown Bay, with views across the bay towards Shanklin, Sandown and Culver Down. It is a Local Nature Reserve.Parts of the down are private, including an area used as a covered reservoir, and some for agriculture. However, much of the down, approximately 35 hectares (86 acres), is open to the public and is owned by the Isle of Wight Council and managed by Gift to Nature. The main area of Brading Down is fenced and grazed but access on foot and for horse riders is available from the many pathways entering the area, and the car parks bordering the main Newport to Brading Road. The thin chalk soils to the east of the site support a typical downland plant community with pyramidal orchids being a particular feature in the summer. In recent years, a programme of scrub clearance has been undertaken. The area is good for butterflies including common blue, chalkhill blue, small, large and dingy skippers, marbled white, gatekeeper, and meadow brown.In addition to the wildlife interest of chalk downland, the ancient field system on Brading Down is a Scheduled Monument. The finest surviving ancient field system on the Island is to be found on the down. This is likely to be of late Iron Age or Roman date and highlights the last time the fields were ploughed. Nearby is Brading Roman Villa. Further down the slopes, First World War practice trenches and former chalk pits show evidence of more recent archaeological interest.

Alverstone
Alverstone

Alverstone is a village 2 miles from the east coast of the Isle of Wight, near Sandown. The name Alverstone is most likely of Saxon origin meaning "Alfred's Farm". Up until 1960, boating took place on the river and tea-gardens were very popular with local people, who came by train on excursions. There is evidence from an archaeological dig in Alverstone of a Roman military presence in the area.Kern Farm is the oldest farm in Alverstone, situated to the north of the village. It was at one point a Mill held in 1086 by William I and previously by King Harold at the time of the Norman Invasion. Alverstone Farm, situated to the east of the village, consists of a manor mentioned in the Domesday Book and other sandstone buildings of interest. When Richard Webster became Chief Justice of England in 1900, he chose the title Lord Alverstone because it was the title he was permitted to choose which was "closest" to Sandown, one of his favourite locales. Alverstone Manor is located here. Prince Albert was instrumental in creating a 'model' brickworks in Alverstone in the middle of the 19th century (but that is a different 'Alverstone', east of Whippingham Isle of Wight, on the southern edge of QV's Osborne Estate).The Village Hall was built by Lord Alverstone in 1879 to serve as the village school. It remained as a school until 1921 when it briefly served as a church. The Newport Junction Railway opened a station at Alverstone on 1 February 1875, and the station first appeared in a public schedule in June 1876. The journey to Sandown took 3 minutes and the journey to Newport took 20 minutes. Alverstone railway station finally closed 6 February 1956. The original wooden station was replaced with one built with earth and clinkers, with wood siding. There are many wetlands around Alverstone. Nature lovers enjoy visiting the Alverstone Marshes. The Alverstone Mead is a 55-acre (220,000 m2) woodland and nature reserve about 1-mile (1.6 km) from Sandown. Alverstone Mead is southeast of Alverstone, and south of the cycleway between Sandown and Newport. It was farmed as water meadows until 1993. Since then the lease has been held by the Wight Nature Council and it has served as a nature reserve with some ancient woodland. It was once part of the Lower Borthwood Farm.Transport is provided by Wightbus route 23, running between Newport and Shanklin.

Knighton, Isle of Wight
Knighton, Isle of Wight

Knighton is a hamlet near to Newchurch on the Isle of Wight. The name should be pronounced as Kay-nighton to avoid confusion with the larger, homophonic village of Niton, near Ventnor. Knighton is situated under Knighton Down and has historically always been a part of the parish of nearby Newchurch. Knighton consists of little more than a collection of farm houses, most now turned to residential use. The only amenity in the settlement is a post-box. To the south is Knighton Sandpit Ltd which is an aggregate extraction company. The pit is also used for off-road driving events. This is however, a little way from the main residential area. Knighton Gorges Manor in Knighton was one of the grandest manor houses on the Isle of Wight. But when the owner's daughter married against his will, he had it demolished, rather than allowing her to inherit it. Hugh De Morville, one of the knights responsible for the murder of Thomas Becket, fled to Knighton Gorges. There was a medieval settlement in Knighton, but nearly all of the population moved to the nearby village of Newchurch to escape the “Black Death”. Flint arrow heads can still be found in fields surrounding the area. It was estimated that at one time, the hamlet contained up to 60 houses. Jimmy Tarbuck lived at Griggs Farm in the 1980s whilst performing in the nearby town of Sandown. Knighton is the home of the “Wight Crystal” drinking water company, whose water comes from Knighton. John Wavell and Anna Cowlam farmed Knighton farm after their marriage in 1735 in Newchurch. They were the great-great-grandparents of Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell (1883-1950), former Field Marshall and Viceroy of India.