Cowleaze Chine is a geological feature on the south west coast 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 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 ...

. It lies to the west of the village of Little Atherfield. This

chine A chine () is a steep-sided coastal gorge where a river flows to the sea through, typically, soft eroding cliffs of sandstone or clays. The word is still in use in central Southern England—notably in East Devon, Dorset, Hampshire and the Isl ...

is just to the west of the larger Shepherd's Chine. It starts just off the side of the A3055 Military Road and runs south west for about 250m to reach the beach at

Brighstone Bay Brighstone Bay is a bay on the south west coast of the Isle of Wight, England. It lies to the south and west of the village of Brighstone from which it takes its name. It faces south west towards the English Channel, its shoreline is 7 km ...

just to the north of Atherfield Point. This chine's vegetation is a mixture of hardy bushes, scrub and rough grasses. At the widest part of the chine erosion and layers of grey sediment are visible. The Chine drains water from the mainly flat agricultural land to its north. The resulting stream reaches the coast at the top of a small cliff and falls the remaining 5m to the beach below where it soaks into the

pebble A pebble is a clast of rock with a particle size of based on the Udden-Wentworth scale of sedimentology. Pebbles are generally considered larger than granules ( in diameter) and smaller than cobbles ( in diameter). A rock made predominant ...

s and disappears. Originally the Chine would have been fed by the flow of water that now supplies neighbouring

Shepherd's Chine Shepherd's Chine is a geological feature on the south west coast of the Isle of Wight, England. It lies to the west of the village of Little Atherfield. This chine is one of the largest on the Isle of Wight. It starts at the side of the A3 ...

. To the east of Cowleaze Chine is the Atherfield Bay Holiday Centre consisting of a

campsite A campsite, also known as a campground or camping pitch, is a place used for overnight stay in an outdoor area. In British English, a ''campsite'' is an area, usually divided into a number of pitches, where people can camp overnight using te ...

and chalets. The

Isle of Wight Coastal Path The Isle of Wight Coastal Path (or Coastal Footpath) is a circular long-distance footpath of 70 miles (113 km) around the Isle of Wight, UK. It follows public footpaths and minor lanes, with some sections along roads. Route The pa ...

crosses Cowleaze Chine near the campsite.

References

External links

Useful info on chines of West Wight
{{Chines on the Isle of Wight Chines of the Isle of Wight