Branstone, Isle of Wight

Princelett, sometimes spelled "Princelet", is a hamlet on the Isle of Wight. Princelett is in Newchurch parish. Until the mid 20th Century it was known chiefly for its milk distribution business known as Princelett Dairy.

Amazon World Zoo Park is a medium-sized zoo located in Newchurch, Isle of Wight on the outskirts of Sandown, England. The collection is based around the animals of the Amazon rainforest and as such features a variety of exotic animals from South America, including Giant Anteaters, Ocelots, Armadillos, Sloths, Capybara and Tapirs. The zoo originated as a private bird collection and grew into a Zoo Park open to the public all year round. It was once home to the largest collection of Toucans in the United Kingdom, holding 9 species in all; the collection has dwindled through the years leaving the sole remnant as a single Plate-Billed Mountain Toucan.The zoo has several rescue animals from the private pet trade, other zoos & collections, where they would have been destroyed for varying reasons, and airport seizures & wild caught animals that are unable to be returned to the wild. The zoo also contributes to several breeding programmes and is a leading breeder of Tamandua and Two-toed Sloths. In 2005 the zoo was subject to a nationwide media coverage after a baby penguin was stolen from the zoo overnight. The penguin chick was never found but is presumed to have died after being released into the Solent around the Isle of Wight. Since undergoing new management, the collection has improved remarkably. The zoo is a member of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) and the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) for which it undergoes routine inspections to ensure that it is up to standard and providing correct animal welfare in an ecological way.

Winford is a hamlet on the Isle of Wight which since the 1950s and particularly in the late 1970s has seen considerable housing development. The local shop in Forest Road closed some time ago, but tourist attractions with gift shops are situated nearby. It is in the civil parish of Newchurch. The pipes supplying Winford with water are being replaced as part of a massive upgrading of the infrastructure supplying water to the Isle of Wight. In addition, two huge pipes supplying the Isle of Wight with water from the mainland of England are being replaced, and water pipelines are being extended in the south of the Island.Southern Vectis bus route 8 and former Wightbus route 23 link Winford with the towns of Newport, Sandown, Shanklin and Ryde, including intermediate villages.

Apse Heath is a hamlet on the Isle of Wight, UK. Apse Heath is centered on the intersection of Newport Road and Alverstone Road. At the 2011 Census the Post Office said the population of the hamlet was included in the civil parish of Newchurch, Isle of Wight. It is northeast of Whiteley Bank and south of Winford. Apse Heath is bordered by the leafy villages of Alverstone and Queen's Bower, and is surrounded by areas of woodland and agricultural land. It also sits roughly 2 miles east of the village of Newchurch, and 1 mile west of Lake. The word "apse" in the local dialect means an aspen tree, or Populus tremula. Thus, Apse Heath refers to a Heath (small moor) populated by Aspens. Apse Heath Methodist Church had a congregation of 11 to 15 that met every Sunday to worship. The church was founded in 1875 by the Bryanites or Bible Christians. The cornerstone of the present chapel was laid by Lord Alverstone, on 10 September 1902. Electric lights were installed in the church and hall in 1956. The church closed for worship in 2013 and after extensive refurbishment is now a successful holiday let known as The Old Chapel, Apse Heath. Apse Heath has a shop, called "Raj's Premier Stores", some other businesses and a post office. The hamlet has gained some popularity over pranksters and their efforts to alter the sign with marker pens or electrical tape, changing the 'P' in 'APSE' to an 'R', thus editing the sign to read 'ARSE HEATH'. Although Island Roads tends to hastily clean the sign down and remove the damage, the sign is rarely ever clean for long, much to the amusement of both schoolchildren from the hamlet and the neighbouring village of Lake and tourists alike. On 12 January 2006, two horses were injured in a fire in some stables in Apse Heath. On 5 August 2007, a small plane crashed, briefly after taking off from Isle of Wight Airport in Sandown in Lake, next to Apse Heath, killing all 4 passengers.Apse Heath was the site of brickmaking operations in the past. It was also the site of a sweet factory, which employed a number of local people until it closed down. Transport is provided by Southern Vectis route 8, which runs through the hamlet between Newport, Sandown, Bembridge and Ryde.

Bathingbourne is a farming hamlet in the southeastern part of the Isle of Wight. It is located on Bathingbourne Lane, northwest of Apse Heath and southwest of Hale Common. Bathingbourne is on the boundary of Godshill and Arreton civil parishes. Several businesses, holiday accommodations and farms are present in Bathingbourne. Bathingbourne farms produce livestock and garlic.Bathingbourne was the name of a manor in the ancient parish of Godshill. It was alternatively known as "Baddingbourne" and "Bangbourne" in the 16th century, but before that it was earlier known as Beaddingaburn (10th century, Bedingeborne (11th century), Baddingebourne (13th century), and Bathyngbourne (14th century). Bathingbourne was one of five manors granted by King Eadwig (reigned 955–959) to members of his thegn, although a previous charter of King Edred (reigned 946–955) also parcelled out this land, but Edred's charter divided the land along different boundaries. The Domesday Book in 1086 listed Bathingbourne in its records of English settlements.

Hale Common is a farming hamlet on the Isle of Wight. Hale Common is on the A3056 road between Lake and Arreton. Hale Common is northeast of Bathingbourne and northwest of Branstone. It is in the civil parish of Godshill.

Knighton Gorges Manor was one of the grandest manor houses on the Isle of Wight, located in the hamlet of Knighton, near Newchurch. The Elizabethan-Tudor style house's history has been a saga of tragic events. It started with a ghastly note of Hugh de Morville, an escapee who resided there after murdering Archbishop Thomas Becket of Canterbury, on 29 December 1170, along with his three other comrades in crime Reginald FitzUrse, William de Tracy and Richard le Breton, then the death of Tristram Dillington in 1718 under mysterious circumstances and finally, 100 years later, followed by another tragic event of the owner of the Manor, George Maurice, destroying the manor in 1821 on his own volition (before his death), purely as a parental annoyance and spiteful action, to his daughter marrying a clergyman, against his wishes thus preventing her from owning the manor.These events have also generated reportedly paranormal events occurring at the manor location, witnessed in the form of the destroyed manor house itself appearing in an apparition form, ghost of Sir Tristram riding a ghostly horse each year on the anniversary of his death, and sighting of animal-like gargoyles on top of each gatepost at the entrance to the manor site.

Newchurch is a village and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. It is located between Sandown and Newport in the southeast of the island. Anthony Dillington, owner of the Knighton Gorges Manor in Newchurch wrote to his son Robert in 1574 that, "This is the very Garden of England, and we be privileged to work in it as Husbandmen......." Newchurch obtained its name from the new church built in 1087 by the Norman monks of Lyra. The Newchurch Parish for many centuries stretched from the north to south coasts of the Island; by the early Nineteenth Century the growing resort towns of Ventnor and Ryde were included within its boundaries. The parish was administered by the Church Parish Vestry until 1894 when civil matters were passed to the newly formed Parish Council which now forms the second tier of Local Government under the Isle of Wight Council. In 1982 Alverstone was included in the civil parish. The present day parish includes Newchurch Village, Apse Heath, Winford, Whiteley Bank, Alverstone, Alverstone Garden Village, Queen's Bower, Princelett and Mersley. Public transport is provided by Southern Vectis bus route 22, operating between Newchurch and Shanklin. Wightbus used to operate bus route 23 between Newport and Shanklin but this was discontinued when Wightbus ceased operations. The Sustrans route 23 cycle route also runs through the village at the bottom of the Shute, allowing easy access to Cowes, Newport and Sandown. Between 1875 and 1956 Newchurch had the advantage of a railway station. There is a pub called "The Pointer Inn" and a sub-post office.

Whiteley Bank, also spelled "Whitely Bank", is a small village or hamlet on the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom. It is located two miles west of Shanklin and five and a half miles (8.9 km) south-east of Newport. It is mainly known by the crossroads, now styled as a mini-roundabout, between the A3020, B3327 and Canteen Road to Apse Heath. Whiteley Bank is in Newchurch Parish. Whiteley Bank is the home of the Isle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary. The Donkey Sanctuary was established in 1987 to provide a safe home for donkeys in distress. It currently houses about 200 animals. It was originally in Newport but had to be moved to Whiteley Bank to accommodate more animals. America Wood is a SSSI located between Whiteley Bank and Shanklin. It is served by Southern Vectis buses on routes 2 and 3. There used to be a public telephone. Whiteley Bank House is a nursing home in Whiteley Bank. It was also home to the infamous "One Acre Festival", which saw crowds of no less than 30 people in an acre field, appreciating the islands local bands.

Queen's Bower (or Queen Bower) is a hamlet on the Isle of Wight, England that has effectively merged with Winford and Apse Heath to create a village. It is classed as part of Sandown, with the postcode PO36. It is in the civil parish of Newchurch, Isle of Wight. Transport is provided by Southern Vectis bus route 8 to Sandown, which stops at Hairpin Bend on Alverstone Road once every hour throughout the day, which is right on the perimeter of Borthwood Copse. It lies to the north of Borthwood, a National Trust property, and gets its name from a hunting lodge for hunting deer in Borthwood, owned in the 13th century either by Isabella de Fortibus — last "Queen" of the Isle of Wight, or King Edward I's queen after he took over the Island. Although somewhere along the line between then and the present, the name has become lost in translation as it is believed to have been originally known as 'Queen Dower' as the land was passed down to her. The only commercial property in the area is the Queen Bower Dairy which is also a caravan park. The National Trust site of Borthwood Copse, which was originally a royal hunting ground is nearby. The area is also home to the 'Isle of Wight Cheese Company' which gets its milk from the dairy farm. Alongside Alverstone and other nearby settlements, Queen's Bower is one of the locations on the Isle of Wight where red squirrels can often be found.

All Saints' Church, Newchurch is a parish church in the Church of England located in Newchurch, Isle of Wight, England. The church is medieval dating from the 13th century. In 1883, restoration of the church was carried out by A.R. Barker, at the instigation of the vicar Rev. Alfred Dicker.The simple layout of the church consists of a nave, a chancel, northern and southern aisles, and a tower. It was built on the site of an older structure which was donated by William FitzOsbern to the Lyre Abbey. Subsequently, the church came under the control of the Beaulieu Abbey. When this religious authority was dissolved, the control of the church was entrusted by Henry VIII to the Bishop of Bristol (now Gloucester and Bristol).The church was one of the seven parishes on the Island when it was built, but now is part of several others. The unique white timber clad tower contains a small peal of six bells with a tenor weighing just 7 cwt or 350 kg.

Borthwood Copse, near Sandown, Isle of Wight, England is a piece of woodland owned by the National Trust and is one of the numerous copses which make up part of the medieval forest which covered most of the eastern end of the Island. Borthwood Copse sits on the outskirts of Newchurch, and is close to the neighbouring hamlet of Apse Heath and the villages of Queen's Bower and Alverstone. Borthwood Copse was originally a royal hunting ground. It was bequeathed to the National Trust in 1926 by Frank Morey. He had purchased it a few years earlier to preserve it for wildlife. Subsequent additions have been added to the land and it now covers a total of 60 acres (240,000 m2). There are some ancient oaks, and a distinctive grove of beech trees which stand amongst glades of coppiced sweet chestnut and hazel. The woodland is one of the very few examples of working coppice with standards which can be seen on the Isle of Wight. A bridleway and many smaller paths lead through the woodland, which is open to the public. It is particularly popular with visitors in the autumn with its vivid colours and, in the springtime, when carpeted with bluebells. Borthwood Copse is one of the countless locations in the Eastern Isle of Wight that are home to large numbers of Red Squirrels. Owing to its position on the downs, much of Borthwood Copse is hilly, and in wet weather the soil often becomes waterlogged and marshy, making travel through the copse on foot difficult. Within the wood is a viewpoint looking east from where you can catch a glimpse of Culver Down and the sea. As the copse climbs a small hill, Bembridge Windmill can be seen in the distance through the downs on clear days. Wildlife includes dormice, red squirrels, a wide range of bats, and many invertebrates. The view point is called Kite Hill.