Sandown

Sister cities

• Tonnay-Charente

History

There is some evidence for a pre-Roman settlement in the area. The name Sandown derives from the Old English meaning 'sandy village' or possibly from meaning 'sandy hemmed-in land'. During the medieval times, Sandown was known as Northsandham ('north Sandown'), with the village of Lake being known as Southsandham ('south Sandown'). Before the 19th century, Sandown was on the map chiefly for its military significance, with the Bay's beaches feared to offer easy landing spots for invaders from the Continent. It is the site of the lost Sandown Castle. While undergoing construction in 1545, the fortification was attacked during the French invasion of the Isle of Wight when invaders fought their way over Culver Down from Whitecliff Bay before being repelled. The castle was built into the sea, prone to erosion and demolished fewer than a hundred years after it was built. In 1631, the castle was replaced by Sandham Fort, built further inland. In 1781, the fort's complement consisted of a master gunner and over twenty soldiers. Sandham Fort was demolished in the second half of the 19th century and is now the site of Sandham Gardens. In the 1860s, five Palmerston Forts were built along the coast of Sandown Bay, including Granite Fort at Yaverland, now the Wildheart Animal Sanctuary. On the town's western cliffs Sandown Barrack Battery survives as a scheduled monument and Bembridge Fort, where the National Trust offers tours, can be seen on the downs to the north-east. One of the first non-military buildings was Sandham Cottage or 'Villakin', a holiday home leased by the radical politician and one-time Mayor of London John Wilkes in the final years of the 18th century. See 'Sandown's famous connections' below. The arrival of the railway in 1864 saw Sandown grow as a…

Geography

The town is surrounded by natural features that form part of the Isle of Wight Biosphere Reserve designated by UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme in June 2019. The area features walks along the Isle of Wight Coastal Path. The bay that gives Sandown its name is an example of a concordant coastline, with of tidal beaches from Luccombe to Culver replenished by longshore drift. Sandown Bay has one of the longest unbroken beaches in the British Isles. To the north-east is Culver Down, mostly owned and managed by the National Trust. It supports typical chalk downland wildlife, and seabirds and birds of prey which nest on the cliffs. Nearby is the flood plain of the Eastern Yar, one of the few freshwater wetlands on the Isle of Wight, where Alverstone Mead local nature reserve is popular for birdwatching. Sandown Meadows nature reserve, acquired by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust in 2012, is a place to spot kingfishers and water voles. Further inland, Borthwood Copse provides woodland walks, with many bluebells in the spring. The area's marine sub-littoral zone, including the reefs and seabed, is a Special Area of Conservation. At extreme low tide, a petrified forest may be revealed in the northern part of the bay, and fragments of petrified wood are often washed up.

Most-observed species

• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  3,720
• Black-headed Gull

  Chroicocephalus ridibundus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  3,622
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  3,558
• Herring Gull

  Larus argentatus Pontoppidan, 1763 · Aves
  3,487
• Meadow Brown

  Maniola jurtina (Linnaeus, 1758) · Insecta
  3,378
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,877
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,647
• Eurasian Magpie

  Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,551

Most recent

• M 3 — 2019-05-19
  7 km ESE of Swanage, United Kingdom
• M 3.3 — 2019-02-27
  3 km SE of Dorking, United Kingdom
• M 2.8 — 2018-07-05
  1 km S of Ewhurst, United Kingdom
• M 2.6 — 2018-06-27
  5 km W of Capel, United Kingdom
• M 2.7 — 2018-04-01
  4 km E of Holmwood, United Kingdom
• M 2.9 — 2015-01-27
  1 km ENE of Winchester, United Kingdom