Watcombe Bay

Watcombe Bay is a bay on the south west coast of the Isle of Wight, England. It lies just to the west of Freshwater Bay. It faces south towards the English Channel and is one of the smallest bays of the Isle of Wight. It is cut into the chalk cliff face of Highdown Cliffs. Its shoreline is less than 100m in length. Because of the steep cliffs it is only accessible by foot by scrambling round on the rocks from Freshwater Bay at low tide.

Watcombe Bay
Watcombe Bay from the cliff top
Watcombe Bay
Coordinates50.665°N 1.525°W / 50.665; -1.525
Ocean/sea sourcesEnglish Channel

The seabed is a mixture of mud, sand and shells. The beach is predominantly shingle

The bay is best viewed from the cliff top on the Isle of Wight Coastal Path which passes by the bay.

In the mid-19th century, a tunnel and steps led from the clifftop to the beach.[1] A second tunnel, intended to connect the beach to the grounds of Redoubt House above, was commenced in the 1930s by EH Crinage.[2]

References
  1. image preceding p93, Brannon's Picture of the Isle of Wight, George Brannon, c.1850, Internet Archive brannonspictureo00bran
  2. Looking Back, Friday, 12 July 2013, Sarah Bryce, Isle of Wight County Press, citing IOWCP 16 July 1938. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
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