Grange Chine and Marsh Chine form 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. They lie to the south of the village of

Brighstone Brighstone is a village and civil parish on the Isle of Wight, 6 miles southwest of Newport on the B3399 road. Brighstone was previously known as "Brixton". The name derives from the Saxon name " Ecgbert's Tun". Brighstone is the largest vi ...

. These two chines form the largest chine feature on the Isle of Wight. The Grange Chine starts at the southern edge of Brighstone and runs south-west, crosses under the A3055 Military Road at the hamlet of Marsh Green then continues for about five hundred metres to reach the beach at Brighstone Bay. The Marsh Chine starts to the east of Marsh Green alongside the A3055 and runs west where it joins the larger Grange Chine before it reaches the beach. Both chines have much shallower sides than other chines on the Isle of Wight and are extensively covered with hardy bushes, stunted trees and scrub. The Chines drain water from the southern slopes of

Brighstone Down Brighstone Down is a chalk down on the Isle of Wight. It is located close to the village of Brighstone, in the southwest of the island (the Back of the Wight), and rises to at its highest point, northeast of the village of Mottistone. Towards ...

and from as far as Shorwell to the east. The stream ( the

Buddle Brook Buddle Brook a small river on the Isle of Wight, England. The Brook drains water from the southern side of Brighstone Down and as far to the east as the village of Shorwell. Its flow is the greatest of the streams in the South-West of the Island ...

) formed is significant enough to power two mills,

Yafford Mill Yafford is a hamlet on the Isle of Wight. It is located southwest from Newport in an area known as the Back of the Wight between Brighstone and Niton. It is in the civil parish of Shorwell. It has a non-operational water mill, which was work ...

and

Brighstone Mill Brighstone is a village and civil parish on the Isle of Wight, 6 miles southwest of Newport on the B3399 road. Brighstone was previously known as "Brixton". The name derives from the Saxon name " Ecgbert's Tun". Brighstone is the largest vi ...

, and where it finally drains into the sea the stream is at least four metres wide and is crossed by a small wooden footbridge. Once the stream reaches 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 ...

beach it soaks in and disappears. Grange Chine is the location where the first fossils of the dinosaurs ''

Neovenator ''Neovenator'' (nee-o-ven-a-tor meaning "new hunter") is a genus of carcharodontosaurian theropod dinosaur. It is known from several skeletons found in the Early Cretaceous (Barremian~130-125 million years ago) Wessex Formation on the south coa ...

'' and '' Brighstoneus'' were discovered, following a storm that resulted in a landslide on the chine in 1978. To the west of the Grange Chine is a holiday park consisting of a campsite and a small number of static caravans. The beach here is often covered in litter. The Isle of Wight Coastal Path crosses the Grange Chine via a wooden footbridge near the beach.

References

External links

Holiday park next to Grange Chine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grange Marsh Chine Chines of the Isle of Wight