Gurnard is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

on 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 Is ...

, two miles to the west of

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 Fl ...

. Gurnard sits on the edge of

Gurnard Bay Gurnard Bay is a bay on the north-west coast of the Isle of Wight, England, in the western arm of the Solent. 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 ...

, enjoyed by the Gurnard Sailing Club. Gurnard's main street features a pub (Portland Inn), J&K Floral Designs, a few shops and a few houses. The west end of the beach is Gurnard Marsh and a stream called "The Luck" which discharges into 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 ...

. A fortification known as Gurnard Fort was built on a headland west of Gurnard Marsh about 1600. The land was eroded, however, and all traces disappeared until an archaeological excavation of a Roman villa in 1864 uncovered traces of Gurnard Fort as well. Transport is provided by the former

Wightbus Wightbus was a bus operator on the Isle of Wight, established and owned by the Isle of Wight County Council. It operated a network of thirteen local bus services running across the island, mostly services which would not have been viable for th ...

route 32 to and from Cowes, now run by

Southern Vectis Southern Vectis is a bus operator on the Isle of Wight. The company was founded in 1921 as "Dodson and Campbell" and became the "Vectis Bus Company" in 1923. The company was purchased by the Southern Railway before being nationalised in 1969. ...

. There is no longer a direct service to

Newport, Isle of Wight Newport is the county town of the Isle of Wight, an island county off the south coast of England. The town is slightly north of the centre of the island, and is in the civil parish of Newport and Carisbrooke. It has a quay at the head of the ...

.Isle of Wight Council press release - "IW Council Steps In To Preserve Bus Routes"
Accessed 31 August 2008.

References

External links

Gurnard Sailing Club websiteIsle of Wight Council informationDoughty Newnham Chartered Surveyors websitePhotos, accommodation guide, hotels and tourist information
Villages on the Isle of Wight Civil parishes in the Isle of Wight Beaches of the Isle of Wight {{IsleofWight-geo-stub

See also

References

External links