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Treasured Landscapes

Looking at the Island from the air or from a high vantage point on top of the downs, you will see a patchwork landscape of fields and woods stitched together by small country lanes and dotted with villages of stone and thatch.
The rich tapestry of farms, grazing lane, copses and fields of crops contained by thick hedgerows are features of an ancient landscape which can be found on the earliest maps and traced back to Domesday. On a modern map, you can rediscover these features by picking out the settlements that grew up around the springs or "bournes". Places like the picturesque villages of Calbourne and Shorwell - the later derived from the Anglo-Saxon name meaning "the spring which rises from the base of a steep hill". The copses on every farm were worked to produce hazel to make hurdles, sweet chestnut from fencing and elm trees for shelter and timer. Today, these woodlands are home to dormice and red squirrels and, in the spring, are carpeted with bluebells.

Farming is still a major influence on the appearance of the Island's countryside. The Isle of Wight with its mild climate, high light intensity and varied soil types is favourable to most types of farming and horticulture. Cereal and vegetable crops are farmed extensively and the Island is self sufficient in milk and vegetables. The farm at Newchurch produces some of the finest garlic and sweetcorn in Britain. The Arreton valley is the centre of horticulture with greenhouses cultivating tomatoes and flowers.
Island farmers support initiatives which conserve the landscape and its wildlife habitats with half over the Isle of Wight recognised as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

River Valleys

Winding their way from hillside springs, through pasture, arable field & marsh to the sea, the rivers have been the most influential natural factor in the form and appearance of the Island's landscape. Today, they can be explored via the network of paths & tracks which follow their course.
The River Medina, Anglo-Saxon for "Middle" divides the Island neatly in half. From its source near Chale, it drains rich, cattle grazed pastures and arable fields before reaching the county town of Newport. From here to Cowes, where it enters the Solent, it is estuarine, with open mudflats and wild marshes on international conservation importance that provide a safe haven to thousands of waterfowl. Both banks up to Newport are accessible by the cycleway along the west bank probably offers the most spectacular views of the estuary and the local Nature Reserve of Dodnor Creek.

The Eastern Yar drains much of the South and East Wight. It meanders through important wetland habitats, refuges to plants such as the ragged robin and yellow flag iris and dragonflies like the emperor and golden-ringed. Owls and kingfishers scour the marshes for voles near Alverstone Barn and kingfishers dart from overhanging branches for sticklebacks in the river. The old railway line from Arreton to Sandown is now a right-of-way and offers the best views of this lowland landscape but there are paths which follow the river in both directions, to its source and to the sea. Take time to discover the rural picturesque villages of Niton, Newchurch and Alverstone.

The Western Yar, which enters the Solent at Yarmouth, flows through some of the most undisturbed and tranquil lowland landscape on the Island. By following the cycleway along the old railway line up the river to Freshwater, you may see red squirrels bounding from branch to branch above you or gear curlew in the estuary and nightingales in the nearby woods.
Wootton Creek in the east is overlooked by the creekside footpaths of Firestone Copse, providing views of the Island's heronry.

Forest & Woodland

Most of the large wooded areas managed by the Forestry Commission are accessible to the visitor. Parkhurst Forest, north of Newport, was mentioned in the Domesday records as a royal hunting forest which, at that time, extended as far as Cowes (hence to village name of Northwood). Though the forest has changed much since then, it still has some of the best oak trees on the Island, as well as a number of Scots and Corsican pine. Follow the well way-marked Pine and Oak Forest Trails to the Island's famous inhabitant, the red squirrel. As there are no grey squirrels, the Island is a stronghold for this attractive animal. Flowers thrive in the glades where light can penetrate through the trees above. This is a particular feature of Firestone Copse, situated near the Fishbourne Ferry Terminal, where a large are of hazel has been coppiced (cut and left to regrow naturally).
Borthwood Copse, near Sandown is owned by the National Trust and is a fragment of the medieval forest which covered most of the eastern end of the Island. Here, there are some fine oak and beech trees which stand amongst glades of coppiced sweet chestnut and hazel. A bridleway and a myriad of smaller paths guide you through this beautiful woodland, a joy to behold in the autumn with its vivid colours and, in the springtime, when carpeted with bluebells.

America Wood behind Shanklin is another "ancient woodland" worthy of a stroll. Located so close to the seaside resort, it provides an alternative rural treat.