Horseshoe Bay, Isle of Wight
Horseshoe Bay is a small bay on the south east coast of the Isle of Wight, England. It lies at the east end of the headland of Culver Down. It faces south east towards the English Channel and its shoreline is approximately 100m in length. It should not be confused with a similarly named bay about 15km southwest at Bonchurch.
The seabed is rocky and the beach comprises a steep bank of flint pebbles. The beach can only be reached at high tide by boat. The cliffs are sheer, concave and are made of chalk, which is unstable and persons on the beach are at risk of being injured by falling rocks dislodged by the many seabirds that use the cliff. Some form of head protection is advisable if venturing close to the base of this cliff. Horseshoe Bay lies NNE and adjacent to, two caves known as the The Nostrils. These can be reached by scrambling over a small rocky outcrop and are partly submerged at high tide.
The bay can be accessed by walking round the headland from Whitecliff Bay at beach level and at low tide. This should only be attempted on a falling (ebb) tide. At certain time of the year, on very low tides, it is possible to reach Horseshoe Bay from Sandown Bay. This entails some scrambling and a short traverse even at extreme low tide across the submerged base of the cliff between an old collapsed cave and the nostrils. The Coastguard Rescue Team and the lifeboat local lifeboat are sometimes called to rescue people trapped by a rising tide, or unable to cope with the terrain. Extreme care should be taken and always tell someone where you are going before you set off.
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