The Needles

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For other uses, see The Needles (disambiguation).
The Needles from the cliffs inshore
The Needles from the cliffs inshore
The Needles shown on Isaac Taylor's one inch map of Hampshire, 1759, showing Lot's Wife, the needle-shaped pillar that collapsed in a storm in 1764
The Needles shown on Isaac Taylor's one inch map of Hampshire, 1759, showing Lot's Wife, the needle-shaped pillar that collapsed in a storm in 1764

The Needles is a row of distinctive stacks of chalk that rise out of the sea off the western extremity of the Isle of Wight, England, close to Alum Bay. A lighthouse has stood at the western end of the formation since 1859. The formation takes its name from a needle-shaped pillar called Lot's Wife that used to stand in its midst until it collapsed in a storm in 1764. The remaining rocks are all short and squat and not at all needle-like, but the name has stuck.

It was featured on the 2005 TV programme Seven Natural Wonders as one of the wonders of the South.

Contents

[edit] Tourism

The Needles are inextricably linked with Alum Bay, but the main tourist features of the headland itself are the two batteries, the experimental rocket testing station, and the four Coastguard cottages owned by the National Trust and let as holiday homes. Nevertheless, scenic boat trips operating from Alum Bay - offering close-up views of the Needles - are very popular. The rocks and lighthouse have become iconic of the Isle of Wight, and feature on a great deal of the souvenirs sold throughout the island.

The Isle of Wight Coast Path has its westernmost point at the Coastguard Cottages.

[edit] Military use

The Needles Old Battery was a military installation built on the cliff top above the stacks in 1861–63 to guard the West end of the Solent. It was initially equipped with 7" Armstrong RBLs, which were replaced by 9" RMLs in 1873. These took a team of 9 men to load and fire. The projectiles weighed 256lbs[1].

Early searchlight experiments were conducted in 1889–92 at grid reference SZ295848, just after which the New Battery was built higher up the cliff. Its field of fire was from approximately West South West clockwise to Northeast[2], and it was designed to defend The Solent against enemy shipping. The Old Battery was originally equipped with the guns which were later deployed at the New Battery, but the concussion from firing these caused the chalk cliffs to crumble. The move to the New Battery removed this problem[3].

In 1903 the old guns were considered obsolete and thrown off the cliff. They have since been recovered and restored as permanent exhibits, placed where they were originally installed. During World War I early trials of anti-aircraft guns were carried out, and the site saw anti aircraft action in World War II. The new Needles guns were scrapped in 1954.

The headland at High Down was used for Black Knight[4] and Black Arrow[5] rocket engine tests from 1956–71. During the peak of activity in the early 1960s some 240 people worked at the complex, while the rockets were built in nearby East Cowes. The site is now open to the public, owned by the National Trust. Concrete installations remain, but the buildings that were less durable have either been demolished or were torn down by the elements.

In 1982, HRH Prince Charles officially opened the Needles Old Battery.

[edit] Access

Though there is a metalled road up to The Old and The New batteries, access is on foot, from a car park at grid reference SZ307853. The battery site becomes dangerous in high winds and is closed to the public in winds above force 8.

During its summer timetable, the Isle of Wight bus firm Southern Vectis operates their Needles Tour open-top bus (route 42) from Yarmouth and Freshwater Bay to Alum Bay and on to the Needles New Battery. It is the only vehicle allowed on the road from Alum Bay, apart from those owned by National Trust staff or, by prior appointment, for the purpose of transporting disabled visitors. Are visitors renting the Coastguard Cottages permitted to bring their vehicle? Clarification required.

[edit] The Old Battery pictures

Gun emplacement at the Old Needles Battery

The tunnel, leading to the searchlight.

Searchlight at the end of the "Searchlight Tunnel, Old Needles Battery

[edit] Geology

The Needles - View from the experimental rocket launching station
The Needles - View from the experimental rocket launching station

The Needles pointed shape is a result of their unusual geology. The strata have been so heavily folded during the Alpine Orogeny that the chalk is near vertical. This chalk outcrop runs through the centre of the Island from Culver Cliff in the east to the Needles in the west, and then continues under the sea to the Isle of Purbeck, forming Ballard Cliff (near Swanage), Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door. [6]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Source: National Trust plaques on the site
  2. ^ Source: Observations at site based upon gun placement and gun aiming tracks
  3. ^ Source: National Trust plaques on the site
  4. ^ Black Knight Testing at The Needles
  5. ^ When Britain Joined the Space Race, CSMA Motoring & Leisure magazine, May 2006, p130
  6. ^ Ian West, MSc PhD FGS (2005). Geology of the Isle of Wight - Field Trip Guide. Geology of the Wessex Coast, Southern England. Retrieved on 2006-05-30.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] External links

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