Alum Bay is a bay near the westernmost point of the Isle of Wight, England, within sight of The Needles. Of geological interest and a tourist attraction, the bay is noted for its multi-coloured sand cliffs.
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Geology
Alum Bay is the location of a classic sequence of Eocene beds of soft sands and clays, separated by an unconformity from the underlying Cretaceous Chalk Formation that forms the adjoining headland of West High Down. Due to geological folding of the Alpine orogeny, the strata in the main section of the Bay are vertical, with younger rocks to the west. The sands are coloured due to oxidised iron compounds formed under different conditions.[1]
Alum Bay Chine begins as a small wooded valley descending eastward from the junction of the B3322 and the road to Headon Hall. It soon broadens into the clay ravine down which the path and chairlift from Needles Park descend to the beach.
Tourism
On the clifftop there is an amusement park, Needles Park, from which during the summer season a chair lift takes tourists to the pebbly beach below, where there is a pontoon for boat trips. Alternatively, a footpath leads to the beach via Alum Bay Chine. The park also features a small number of rides and stalls aimed at children, souvenir shops, a restaurant (The Pantry), Marconi's bar (formerly ...On the Rocks) and a sweet shop in which guests may also take a tour and view how some of the sweets are made ('The Isle of Wight Sweet Manufactory'). Nearby is an attraction at which guests may view glass-blowing, and purchase wares. During peak season, the amusement park hosts frequent firework shows.
Alum Bay Sands
A traditional product of Alum Bay, and a fixture of Isle of Wight tourist shops, is the creation of ornaments using the coloured sands layered in vials and jars.[2] The sands also were used for pictures[3], a popular craft in Victorian times known as marmotinto. Visitors are no longer allowed to dig out their own sands, and signs on the beach warn tourists not to climb the cliffs because of the danger of landslides. The Needles Park, however, has a facility for visitors to fill their own sand souvenirs with sand collected and preserved from natural cliff falls throughout the year.[4]
Transport
Southern Vectis run bus services from Alum Bay. There are two summer-only services, namely The Needles Tour, and the Island Coaster service. The Needles Tour is a sightseeing open-top bus from Alum Bay to the Needles New Battery and Yarmouth, while the Island Coaster is a longer distance route to Ventnor, Shanklin, Sandown and Ryde. Additionally, Southern Vectis route 7 also runs from Alum Bay to Yarmouth, Brighstone and Newport.
History
On a map c. 1590 the bay is called Whytfylde Chine [5]
Some of the Alum Bay sands are extremely pure white silica, and were formerly quarried for glass and pottery manufacture.[2]
Guglielmo Marconi moved to Alum Bay in 1897 to experiment with radio. He set up a 40 meter radio antenna outside the Needles Hotel in Alum Bay. Initially establishing communication with ships offshore, he was able by early 1898 to successfully communicate with stations at Madeira House, Bournemouth, and the Haven Hotel, Poole, 20 miles away.[6][7]
References
- ^ West, I.M. and Helsby, R. 2007. Alum Bay: Geology of the Isle of Wight. Internet site: www.soton.ac.uk/~imw/Alum-Bay.htm. School of Ocean and Earth Sciences, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton University, UK. Version: 6 February 2007, retrieved 3 August 2008
- ^ a b Handbook to the Isle of Wight, Thomas Brettell, John Mitchell, 1844 Google Books, retrieved 3 August 2008
- ^ The Other British Isles: A Journey Through the Offshore Islands of Britain, Christopher Somerville, Grafton, 1990, ISBN 0246133171 Google Books, retrieved 3 August 2008
- ^ Sand Shop, Needles Park website
- ^ The Alum in Alum Bay, Isle of Wight Industrial Archaeology Society report
- ^ Marconi My Beloved, Maria Cristina Marconi, Branden Books, 2002, ISBN 0937832391 Google Books, retrieved 3 August 2008
- ^ My Father, Marconi, Degan Marconi, Guernica Editions, 1996, ISBN 1550710443 Google Books, retrieved 3 August 2008
See also
External links
- Needles Park official website
- Grimkie, Jacob Abbott, Sheldon, 1860 - novel with description of Alumn Bay ornaments and sand pictures.
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