Alum Bay
Pebble beach
Alum Bay is one of the most visited spots on the Isle of Wight, famous above all for the dramatic multi-coloured sand cliffs that rise vertically from the beach. The bands of red, orange, yellow, white, grey and brown sand, laid down over millions of years and tilted to near-vertical by the same geological forces that created The Needles, are a genuinely remarkable sight. Glass ornaments filled with layers of the different coloured sands have been sold as souvenirs here since the Victorian era, and they remain one of the island's most recognisable keepsakes.
The beach itself is shingle, steeply shelving and not especially comfortable for sunbathing. This is not a beach you visit for swimming or sandcastles. You come here for the scenery. The Needles, the line of three chalk stacks that mark the western tip of the island, are visible from the beach and from the clifftop above, and on a clear day the view extends across to the Dorset coast and the white cliffs of Studland and Old Harry Rocks.
Access to the beach is by chairlift from the clifftop or by a steep path. The chairlift is an attraction in its own right, a slightly nerve-wracking open-air ride that drops riders from the top of the cliff to the beach in a few minutes. It operates during the season and there is a charge. The alternative path is steep, uneven and quite tiring on the way back up, but it is free.
At the top of the cliff, The Needles Landmark Attraction is a commercial visitor complex with shops, cafes, sweet-making demonstrations, a glass-blowing studio and various rides and amusements. It is unashamedly touristy but well maintained and popular with families. There is a large car park with a charge during the season.
The Needles Old Battery, a Victorian fort perched on the headland beyond the visitor attraction, is owned by the National Trust and offers the best views of The Needles themselves. A tunnel through the chalk leads to a viewing platform directly above the lighthouse, and the panorama from here is one of the great sights of southern England. The fort also has a small exhibition about its role during both World Wars.
Alum Bay sits at the western end of the Tennyson Trail, and walkers arriving from the east along the chalk ridge of Tennyson Down are rewarded with a sudden view down into the bay and across to The Needles. The path continues along the clifftop to the Old Battery and is part of the Isle of Wight Coastal Path.
The beach is not lifeguarded and the shingle shelves steeply into deep water. Swimming is not recommended. The currents around The Needles headland can be strong. Alum Bay is a place for looking, photographing and marvelling at the geology, rather than for a traditional beach day. But as a spectacle, it is hard to beat anywhere on the island.