Shepherd's 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 Little Atherfield is a small settlement on the Isle of Wight. It is near the coast in the Back of the Wight. The Isle of Wight is situated off the south coast of England. According to the Post Office the 2011 Census population of the village was ...

. This chine is one of the largest on the Isle of Wight. It starts at the side of the A3055 Military Road and runs west for about 500m to reach the beach at Brighstone Bay just to the north of Atherfield Point. This chine has much shallower sides than other chines on the Isle of Wight and is extensively covered with hardy bushes, scrub and rough grasses. The Chine drains water from the mainly flat agricultural land surrounding Little Atherfield. The resulting stream used to be collected behind a small

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, a ...

and then pumped back onto the surrounding farm land. The remains of the

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

and pump house, complete with pump, still stand about halfway along the chine. Similarly to Grange/Marsh Chine 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. To the west of Shepherd's 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 crosses Shepherd's Chine near the pump house. Shepherd's Chine, IW, UK

External links

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