Sandown
Sandown is a seaside resort and civil parish on the south-east coastline of the Isle of Wight, UK with the resort of Shanklin to the south and the settlement of Lake in between. Together with Shanklin, Sandown forms a built-up area of 21,374 occupants. The northern most community of Sandown Bay, Sandown is known for its stretches of conveniently accessible, sandy shoreline. The resort's coastlines run constantly from the high cliffs at Battery Gardens in the south to Yaverland in the north. The town expanded as a Victorian resort surrounded by a wide range of all-natural functions. The seaside as well as inland locations of Sandown are part of the Isle of Wight Biosphere Reserve designated by UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme in June 2019, and Sandown's sea front and clifftops develop part of the Isle of Wight Coastal Path. The Bay that provides Sandown its name is a superb example of a concordant coastline with an overall of five miles of strong tidal coastlines extending right from Shanklin to Culver Down as a result of Longshore drift. This makes Sandown Bay residence to one of the lengthiest unbroken beaches in the British Isles. To the north-east of the town is Culver Down, a chalk down available to the public, mainly had and also taken care of by the National Trust. It sustains typical chalk downland wildlife, along with seabirds and also predators which nest on the adjacent high cliffs. Nearby are Sandown Levels in the flood plain of the River Yar, among minority freshwater wetlands on the Isle of Wight, where Alverstone Mead Citizen Nature Reserve is a prominent place for birdwatching. Sandown Meadows Nature Reserve, obtained by the Hampshire and also Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust in 2012, is a place to spot kingfishers and also water voles. Further inland, Borthwood Copse gives fascinating forest walks, with bluebells aplenty in the Springtime. The location's aquatic sub-littoral area, including the reefs and also seabed, also has the wildlife classification Special Area of Conservation. At extreme low tide, a petrified forest is partially exposed in the northern part of the Bay, as well as fragments of petrified wood are frequently depleted on the beach.