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Top Attractions in Isle of Wight

Sandown

Sandown is a seaside resort town and civil parish on the southeast coast of the Isle of Wight, England, which neighbours the town of Shanklin to the south. Sandown Bay is the name of the bay off the English Channel which both towns share, and it is notable for its long stretch of easily accessible golden sandy beach. It is the site of the lost Sandown Castle. Whilst undergoing construction, this was attacked by a French force which had fought its way over Culver Down from Whitecliff Bay, resulting in the French being repulsed. It was built too far into the sea and constantly suffered erosion, until now reduced to a pile of rocks. Later forts in the town include the Diamond Fort, built inshore to replace the castle and which fought off a minor attack from privateers in 1788, and the present "Granite Fort", which is now the zoo. Together with Shanklin, Sandown forms a built up area of 21,374 inhabitants. The sweeping esplanade from Devonia Steps to Yaverland and the bandstand was built during the First World War, for the first time stabilising the road to Bembridge. An extension to Browns Golf Course was added in 1944 to disguise pumping apparatus for the Pipe Line Under the Ocean pumping oil to the D-Day beaches, which still stands next to the large Art Deco Grand Hotel. Sandown Bay is often used as a sheltered anchorage, especially for ships requiring salvage which are periodically towed into the bay and the wreck of a salvage tug could be seen until recently at low tide under Culver Cliff which had been assisting the stricken tanker Pacific Glory in the 1970s.

Bembridge

Bembridge is a village and civil parish located on the easternmost point of the Isle of Wight. It had a population of 3,848 according to the 2001 census of the United Kingdom, leading to claims by residents that Bembridge is the largest village in England. Bembridge is home to many of the Island's wealthiest residents. The population had reduced to 3,688 at the 2011 Census. Bembridge sits at the extreme eastern point of the Isle of Wight. Prior to land reclamation the area of Bembridge and Yaverland was almost an island unto itself, separated from the remainder of the Isle of Wight by Brading Haven. Prior to the Victorian era Bembridge was a collection of wooden huts and farmhouses, which only consolidated into a true village with the building of the church in 1827 . The historical heart of the village is located close to the church in the north of the village, consisting of a number of shops, pubs and restaurants, along with the Village Hall and site of the former Parish Council hall. Bembridge Library serves the community and there is a local museum in the same location. The Lane End district is located in the east of the village. It is largely composed of modern bungalows and a small shopping area which includes a Co-Op store. The lane comes to an end at the beach, where Bembridge Lifeboat station and the Bembridge Coast Hotel are situated. Formerly, many of the bungalows were on the land of a cottage where Cecily Cardew lived, after whom an Oscar Wilde character was named. Moving inland from Lane End one finds Bembridge C of E Primary School, along with the local community centre, which are connected by a large recreational playing field. The Royal Isle of Wight Golf Club was located at St Helens Duver, across the harbour from Bembridge. The club was formed in 1882. It closed in the 1960s.

Merstone

Merstone is a quaint little hamlet on the Isle of Wight. It is home to Merston Manor, built in 1605 in the Jacobean style by Edward Cheeke, and rebuilt in the Victorian era. Merston Manor was first mentioned in the Domesday Book, and the present structure is arguably the oldest brick house on the Island. Prior to the Norman Conquest, Merston Manor was owned by the Brictuin family. The manor now belongs to the Crofts family. Although the manor was considered the most important residence, from 1928 onwards, the Latheys were considered to be the most important family to reside in the hamlet, bringing about change and somewhat encouraging the residents to modernise more hastily. One prominent member of the Lathey family, Michael Lathey Jnr became infamous among the occupants of the hamlet due to a string of practical jokes paid on the townsfolk of Newport and its people. One of which was risking his safety to venture into Newport alone and steal the town crest during the great feud which was only recently recovered in 1998. While Merstone has always been considered to be in the Newport district, conflicts have broken out between rival clans; the Merstone Goldwings and the Newport Broadleaves, the quarrels began after a farmer hailing from Merstone accused a man who resided in Newport of stealing three sheep. No-one was killed in the clashes but homes were torched and property vandalised. However, since the early 1900s the disagreements were settled as Newport residents thought it would be better for the town and hamlet to get along since the citizens of Newport needed to use the newly built railway to Ventnor. Merstone is near the centre of the Island, roughly equidistant from Blackwater to the northwest, Horringford to the east, and Godshill to the south. In 1875 Merstone station was opened on the Newport to Sandown railway line. In 1897 the station became the starting point of a branch opened by the Isle of Wight Central Railway to St. Lawrence, and completed to Ventnor West in 1900. In 1952 the branch closed, and in 1956, the station and original railway line skirting the hamlet were also closed. The island platform of the former station is still visible adjacent to National Cycle Route 23. Well-known Island architect Percy Goddard Stone, born 15 March 1856, died in The Cottage at Merstone on 21 March 1934. Stone was responsible for many stone monuments on the Island, such as the County War memorial at Carisbrooke Castle, and war memorials in Arreton, Bembridge and Yarmouth, as well as the Queen Victoria memorial in Newport and churches in Wootton and Cowes. Public transport is now provided by Southern Vectis on bus route 2, which operates between Newport and Sandown via Shanklin including intermediate villages. Merstone, since 2013 has been 14ft under water and is considered one of the Isle of Wights most hostile aquatic resorts.

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