Ashey railway station

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.

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.

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.

Haylands is an area just to the south of Ryde on the Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England. At the time of the 2011 Census the population etc. of Haylands is listed under Ryde. Located to the east, it is a short walk away from housing estates at Pell and Binstead. The settlement consists mainly of a housing development, including some ex-local authority housing, a corner shop in Upton Road, a primary and a middle school. It is not far from Ryde High School at Pell Lane. In the centre of Haylands there is a pub called Lake Huron. The pub's name originates from the Lake family, a 19th-century family of brewers who owned several pubs naming them after the Great Lakes of North America, Lake Huron is the only one to have survived. Haylands forms part of the local electoral ward of Havenstreet, Ashey and Haylands and at the Isle of Wight Council election in 2009 elected Independent councillor Vanessa Churchman. The settlement lies to the west of the A3055 road. Haylands is approximately 5.5 miles (8.9 km) north-east of Newport. Southern Vectis route 4 used to link the area with Ryde and East Cowes. However this caused the journey time to increase significantly and the area was later withdrawn from the service and after negotiations a limited replacement service was put in place. This service was later improved and is now run as route 37.

St Peter's Church, Havenstreet is a parish church in the Church of England located in Havenstreet, Isle of Wight.

Alverstone Marshes (grid reference SZ572859) is an 83.8 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the Isle of Wight, notified in 1951. The Alverstone Marshes are the site of a wetland restoration project by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. It is also noted for water voles.

The Church of St. Michael and All Angels, Swanmore, near Haylands in Ryde is a former parish church in the Church of England located in Ryde, Isle of Wight.

Havenstreet is a village on the Isle of Wight, located about 2 miles southwest of Ryde, in the civil parish of Havenstreet and Ashey.

Ryde Academy is an academy status secondary school, including sixth form, located in Ryde on the Isle of Wight, England.

Alverstone railway station, was an intermediate station situated on the edge of Alverstone village on the Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England.

Nunwell is the location of Nunwell House, near Brading on the Isle of Wight, which was the home of the Oglander family for many centuries. It is in the civil parish of Brading. The present family are not direct descendants through the male line and thus the baronetcy has died out.

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.