The River Medina is the main river of the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

, England, rising at St Catherine's Down near

Chale Chale is a village and civil parish on the Isle of Wight of England, in the United Kingdom. It is located three kilometres from Niton in the south of the Island in the area known as the Back of the Wight. The village of Chale lies at the foot of ...

, and flowing northwards through the county town Newport, towards 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 to ...

Cowes Cowes () is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked by the Cowes Floa ...

. The river is a navigable tidal

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

from Newport northwards, where it takes the form of a

ria A ria (; gl, ría) is a coastal inlet formed by the partial submergence of an unglaciated river valley. It is a drowned river valley that remains open to the sea. Definitions Typically rias have a dendritic, treelike outline although they ca ...

(a drowned valley). This occurred because the Medina used to be a tributary of what was once the "

River Solent The River Solent is a now-extinct river which during the Paleocene would have flowed around the area which is now the coastlines of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. History The River Solent was one of three major rivers in central and southern E ...

", with a larger catchment area. As the Solent valley flooded, the river received less water and more sediment, causing it to become more tidal. The river is bridged at Newport. Cowes is connected to

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 ...

by a chain ferry known as the

Cowes Floating Bridge The Cowes Floating Bridge is a vehicular chain ferry which crosses the River Medina on the Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England. The ferry crosses the tidal river from East Cowes to Cowes. The first floating bridge between the two tow ...

. The river also has several small ferries which cater mainly for sailors. The name ''Medina'' comes from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

' meaning "the middle one", and the current pronunciation was first recorded as 'Medine' in 1196. The river's only named tributary is Lukely Brook. The navigation of the river was improved in the nineteenth century by Henry Daniel Martin, a

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

who lived in Newport. The river is used by yachtsmen as a safe harbour. Along its banks there are old warehouses and wharves, where in the past flying boats, hovercraft and steam ships were developed and built. The Classic Boat Museum displays much of the river's history, as well as the history of yachting. The

Island Harbour Marina Island Harbour Marina, on the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom, UK, is a commercial marina on the River Medina in the small Hamlet (place), hamlet of Binfield, Isle of Wight, Binfield. It is located approximately halfway between Cowes and the Count ...

, at the site of an old tidal mill, is on the river about two miles from Newport.

Views along the river

File:Medina_at_Shide.jpg, At Shide, on the southern outskirts of Newport File:Medina_at_Newport.jpg, At Coppins Bridge, Newport File:Newport Quay, IW, UK.jpg, Newport Quay, at the head of the estuary File:River Medina near Newport, Isle of Wight.jpg, The estuary, looking north from Newport File:River Medina, Isle of Wight, UK.jpg, View from the east bank, about a mile north of Newport File:Medina at Cowes (2).jpg, The river's mouth at Cowes, looking west, with the chain ferry in mid-stream File:River Medina, Newport, Isle of Wight, UK.jpg, Wintry scene, near Newport. Snow here is fairly unusual.

References

Rivers of the Isle of Wight Estuaries of England Medina Estuary {{England-river-stub

Views along the river

See also

References