Isle of Wight Coastal Trail KS2-Adult

Geography Coasts AONB
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Last reviewed 10th May 2023

The Isle of Wight Coastal Trail is a series of geography resources which can be used on a mix-and-match basis across 12 iconic Island and mainland locations, mostly part of our AONB and UNESCO World Biosphere designations, ideal for teaching or self-led learning of key curriculum topics.

Use them as a set to develop a day trip or residential visit, or add them to existing visits to nearby venues and attractions. Most of the resources are timed at half a day making them ideal "add-ons" to an existing trip.

I looked at books, I looked at maps, I looked at atlases, I enjoyed that, but the thing that inspired me most of all was being taken from the school into the local area to look at nature, to look at the way the land looked, to understand the geography, to walk up little hills and streams and see how the ecological system worked, look at the environment.
— Michael Palin

Key Coastal Trail locations

Alum Bay - World-famous coloured sands and clays with near-vertical strata
Chines of the Isle of Wight - Steep-sided river valleys permeate much of the Island's coastline - more than 20 to study
Compton Bay - The best place in the UK to see actual dinosaur footprint casts in the rocks at low tide
Cowes / East Cowes - Sea Port towns on opposite sides of the River Medina where marine industry meets leisure boating fraternities
Freshwater - Noted for stunning coastal rock formations the result of thousands of years of erosion
Hurst Spit - A large shingle bank extending 2.5miles into the Solent encompassing salt marshes and Hurst Castle
Newtown - Previously a mediaeval harbour, now a nature reserve of extensive mud flats and salt marshes
Ryde - Victorian seaside resort with one of the UK's longest working piers; home to Europe's only commercial hovercraft service
St Helens / Bembridge - Adjacent small towns across a large natural harbour with a unique ecosystem
Seaview - Edwardian seaside resort with significant sea defences; great views of the Palmerston forts in the Solent
St Lawrence Undercliff - 5 mile long landslide in cretaceous soft rocks - the largest urban landslide complex in northern Europe
Ventnor - Wall lizard capital of the UK with a unique microclimate giving more sunny days and fewer frosts than most of the UK