Shanklin is a popular seaside resort on the Isle of Wight, south of the English coast. ( United Kingdom ).
In July and August of 1819 John Keats stayed at Shanklin, where he finished his book Lamia and the drama Otho the Great began. In July 1868, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow stayed in Shanklin during his last trip to Europe. Fine art photographer Emma Barton lived in Vernon Cottage in Shanklin from 1932 until her death in 1938.
The main tourist attractions are the old village and the “chine” – gorge carved into the chalky cliffs by a coastal river , the seafront promenade mainly hosts hotels and restaurants, as well as the two beaches.
Access : Coordinates: 50.631, -1.1734 / Shanklin It is located in the south of the Southeast region of England, in the English Channel opposite the city of Southampton. / Buses to nearby towns and suburbs are operated by South VECTIS, mainly on routes 2, 3, 22 and 24, mainly from the bus to the Cooperative supermarket. Destinations served include Newchurch, Newport, Ryde, Sandown, Ventnor, and Winford. During the summer, an open-top bus route called the “Sandown Bay Tour” is operated, serving Shanklin’s main tourist destinations and operates in Sandown.
/ Shanklin railway station is the terminus on the island’s line from Ryde, opened on 23 August 1864. The railway was extended south to Ventnor in 1866, but this section was closed in 1966. The line from Ryde to Shanklin is currently operated by the former London Underground tube trains. In October 2004, the direct connection was restored in the form of a bus service called the “Rail Connection”. It was discontinued in 2010 but was replaced by the South VECTIS number 3 bus.
Highlights :
- The center of the town consists of two main streets which constitute the main commercial area of the south of the island: Regent street and High street.
- In one of the churches of Shanklin there is a bell from the ship “HMS Eurydice” that sank in 1878 off the coast of the Isle of Wight
- In the early 1980s, the Trixie’s Big Red Motorbike musical group was formed in the city.
- Shanklin Station is the terminus of the island’s only commercial rail line, the “Island Line”.
- the “chine” : the “chine” (gorge carved into the chalky cliffs by a coastal river.The Shanklin Chine can be viewed for a fee. Parts of the pipeline from Operation PLUTO have been preserved there. It was used to supply the Allies with gasoline during Operation Neptune.
- beaches: Hope beach which runs in the opposite direction, overlooked by the esplanade from which an elevator connects the top of the cliff to the beach., Small hope beach which joins Sandown beach to the north and where it is possible to rent small beach huts
- In the litterature : In Joseph Jacobs’ version of The Three Little Pigs (1890) the three pigs and the wolf live near Shanklin.
- Here was born the noble Alfred Douglas-Hamilton, XIII Duke of Hamilton. / America Wood is a Site of Special Scientific Interest located between Shanklin and Whiteley Bank
- St. Paul’s Church, addressed in a poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins / St. Blasius Church ( known as Shanklin Old Church) / the Church of St. Savior-on-the-Cliff
- Shanklin is the location where Charles Darwin wrote his Origin of Species during an long visit to the town.
Activities : sightseeing / photo opportunities / trekking / Bus tourist route “Island Coaster”
Go next : the island’s capital Newport via the villages of Godshill and Rookley / The town of Ventnor on the south coast of the Isle of Wight
