place

Compton Bay

Bays of the Isle of WightFossil trackwaysIsle of Wight geography stubsNational Trust properties on the Isle of WightTourist attractions on the Isle of Wight
Use British English from June 2015
Compton Bay, Isle of Wight, UK
Compton Bay, Isle of Wight, UK

Compton Bay is a bay located on the southwest section of the Isle of Wight, England. Its northwestern edge is defined by the distinctive white chalk cliff of Freshwater Cliff, named after adjacent Freshwater Bay, which forms a small cove with the village of Freshwater situated just behind. Its northeastern edge is formed from the soft red and orange lower cretaceous rocks of Brook Bay, which are rapidly eroding. Due to the lack of grazing on the cliffs above the bay, the native chalk ecosystem has thrived. Atop the cliffs, the Island's county flower, the pyramidal orchid, can be found, while the rare Glanville fritillary butterfly also lives in large numbers supported by the native flowers. There are also other hardy plants, such as common gorse bushes and wild cabbage. The bay is popular with wave and kite surfers due to the waves that form when the prevailing south-westerly wind is blowing onshore. The beach is gently shelving and consists mostly of sand, with a few lengths of submerged rock, although at high tide the sea covers the beach almost completely. The car park and its public facilities are owned by the National Trust, as is the coastal strip of land. The Isle of Wight Coastal Path runs along the cliff around the bay. There are dinosaur footprints visible in Compton Bay when the tide is low, and this is one of the best areas to see the dinosaurs of the Isle of Wight. Fossil hunters can often be seen searching for smaller fossils on the beach. Compton Bay was the subject of three song by past West Wight resident Robyn Hitchcock: "Airscape" from the 1986 album Element of Light, "Oceanside" from the 1991 album Perspex Island, and "Time Coast" from the 2017 album Robyn Hitchcock.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Compton Bay (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 50.662 ° E -1.49 °
placeShow on map

Address

Compton Down


PO40 9UF
England, United Kingdom
mapOpen on Google Maps

Compton Bay, Isle of Wight, UK
Compton Bay, Isle of Wight, UK
Share experience

Nearby Places

Afton Down
Afton Down

Afton Down is a chalk down near the village of Freshwater on the Isle of Wight. Afton Down faces Compton Bay directly to the west, while Freshwater is approximately one mile north. It was the site of the Isle of Wight Festival 1970, where the Guinness Book of Records estimates 600,000 to 700,000, and possibly 800,000 people, flocked to see the musical talents of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Free, The Who, The Doors, Ten Years After, Taste (Irish band), and Jimi Hendrix.In keeping with the native flora of Compton Bay, a variety of hardy plants grow on the down. Large European gorse bushes grow on the cliff, with the shelter they provide allowing other plants such as wild cabbage and bird's foot trefoil to thrive. Due to the strong prevailing wind from the English channel to the west, no large trees are able to grow on the down, allowing shrubs and grasses to thrive. The Isle of Wight's county flower, the pyramidal orchid, also grows here, along with Plantago lanceolata, the main food plant for the rare Glanville fritillary. A car park is situated near the highest point of the Military Road's route over the down, and allows for walkers to travel along a footpath downhill towards Freshwater Bay. There is an obelisk on Afton Down near the cliff edge. It is inscribed with a memorial to 15 year-old Edward Lewis Miller of Goudhurst in Kent who died after falling from the cliff in 1846. This obelisk was Grade II listed in 1994. E.L.M. Aged 15 He cometh forth like a flower and is cut down. He fleeth also as a shadow and continueth not. Erected in remembrance of a most dear and only child who was suddenly removed into eternity by a fall from the adjacent cliff on the rocks below. 28th August 1846. Each side of the obelisk is inscribed with biblical passages in relation to the afterlife. In the 17th century it was common for local people to descend the cliffs to collect seabirds and pick samphire. The birds were killed and plucked and their feathers sold, and the carcasses were sold to local fisherman to bait crab pots. The samphire was pickled and sent to London in barrels.Freshwater Bay Golf Course is located on Afton Down.On the downs are a group of 24 barrows comprising, a long barrow 34.7 m long, 0.9 m high and oriented east–west, 17 bowl barrows, 4 bell barrows and 2 disc barrows (One of which is where the golf course is located). One barrow has been the subject of archaeological interest, and is thought to be from the Bronze Age. The site was excavated in 1817 revealing nothing of significance in the long barrow, but several cremations in the round barrows.