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Gurnard Bay is a bay on the north-west coast of the
The seabed is a mixture of mud and sand and is home to Gurnard Ledge, a clay and limestone
On the former land to the west of Gurnard Marsh was one of the island's main harbours for "common passage" to the mainland. Protecting the harbour stood Gurnard Fort, built around 1600, however by the 17th century it was abandoned as Cowes had then rapidly grown to be the main commercial port for the island. The remains of the fort were rediscovered in 1864, during an excavation of a
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...
, England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, in the western arm of the Solent
The Solent ( ) is a strait between the Isle of Wight and Great Britain. It is about long and varies in width between , although the Hurst Spit which projects into the Solent narrows the sea crossing between Hurst Castle and Colwell Bay t ...
. It lies to the north-west of the village of Gurnard from which it takes its name. Its shoreline is in length and is gently curving. It stretches from Gurnard Head in the west to Egypt Point
Egypt Point is the northernmost point of the island county of the Isle of Wight off the south coast of England, and was one of Queen Victoria's favoured places during her time on the island. According to the Post Office at the 2011 Census the poi ...
to the east. A panoramic view of the bay and the village of Gurnard can be seen from ferries approaching Cowes or East Cowes
East Cowes is a town and civil parish in the north of the Isle of Wight, on the east bank of the River Medina, next to its west bank neighbour Cowes.
The two towns are connected by the Cowes Floating Bridge, a chain ferry operated by the Isle ...
from the Solent.
There is a pebble and shingle beach on the bay which is bordered by a row of municipally-owned beach huts. Watersports are popular pastimes in the bay, and the Gurnard Sailing Club is located at its eastern end.
The bay is best viewed and accessed from the green at Gurnard.
Geography
The seabed is a mixture of mud and sand and is home to Gurnard Ledge, a clay and limestone reef
A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock o ...
which is a danger to marine traffic and marked with a buoy.
A small brook called Gurnard Luck enters the bay at the south-western end, and its estuary is used as a small harbour for small fishing vessels. In the past, it was believed escaped prisoners sometimes made for the Luck to commandeer vessels and escape to the mainland.
Historically, the land to the west of Gurnard Marsh extended much further into the sea and formed a significant headland, however, in recent centuries has been significantly destroyed by erosion.
History
On the former land to the west of Gurnard Marsh was one of the island's main harbours for "common passage" to the mainland. Protecting the harbour stood Gurnard Fort, built around 1600, however by the 17th century it was abandoned as Cowes had then rapidly grown to be the main commercial port for the island. The remains of the fort were rediscovered in 1864, during an excavation of a Roman villa
A Roman villa was typically a farmhouse or country house built in the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, sometimes reaching extravagant proportions.
Typology and distribution
Pliny the Elder (23–79 AD) distinguished two kinds of villas n ...
which stood on the same site, the area on which they stood has now since been destroyed by the sea and lies some distance into the bay.
The wreckage of a downed World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
German bomber lies in the bay not too far from Egypt Point
Egypt Point is the northernmost point of the island county of the Isle of Wight off the south coast of England, and was one of Queen Victoria's favoured places during her time on the island. According to the Post Office at the 2011 Census the poi ...
.References
{{Crossings navbox , structure = Around the Bays , place =Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...
, bridge = Gurnard Bay
, bridge signs =
, upstream text = East
, upstream = Osborne Bay
Osborne Bay is a bay on the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight, England, in the eastern arm of the Solent. It lies to the east of East Cowes and is from the entrance to the River Medina. Its shoreline is in length and is gently curving. It ...
, upstream signs =
, downstream text = West
, downstream = Thorness Bay
, downstream signs =
Bays of the Isle of Wight