Locations on the Isle of Wight – a personal view

Alison Cruickshanks (UK) In the final part of my article, I will look at locations on the Isle of Wight. Anyone who has visited the Isle of Wight will know that the island is famous for dinosaurs. Indeed, popular visitor attractions include the museums at Dinosaur Isle, Blackgang Chine (which has its own model Dinosaur land) and Dinosaur Farm. Dinosaur Isle is an interactive fun-packed museum that is a popular island attraction. What makes the Isle of Wight so special is its varied geology that changes as you go from one side of the Island to another. For example, in the north, you can collect from the Oligocene; in the south, you can collect from the Cretaceous; and, in the south-east and west, you can collect fossils from the Eocene. Some locations, such as Whitecliff Bay and Alum Bay, have vertical beds. Alum Bay is famous for the different coloured sands that fill souvenirs in gift shops all over the island. These sands are from vertical beds representing the Eocene succession (Barton Group, Bracklesham Group, London Clay and Reading beds). I visited many locations on the Isle of Wight. Here I am at one of them, Shepherds Chine. I spent a week on the Island with my husband looking at ten locations but I will concentrate on three of the most memorable during my visit. Whitecliff Bay We stayed at the caravan park on the cliff top at Whitecliff Bay and made this our first point of call. One of … Read More