Sandown is a seaside resort town and civil parish on the south-east coast of the Isle of Wight, England. The resort of Shanklin and the settlement of Lake are sited just to the south of the town. Sandown has a population of 11,654, according to the 2021 Census; together with Shanklin and Lake, it forms a built-up area of around 25,000 inhabitants. It is the northernmost town of Sandown Bay, with an easily accessible, sandy shoreline with beaches that run continuously from the cliffs at Battery Gardens in the south to Yaverland in the north.
One of Sandown's sandy beaches
Sandown's impressive sandstone and chalk cliffs at the northern end of the Bay
A view of Sandown Meadows Nature Reserve along the flood plain of the Eastern Yar.
Looking out to the English Channel from the town's main beach
The Isle of Wight is an island, English county and unitary authority in the English Channel, 2 to 5 miles off the coast of Hampshire, across the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island in England. Referred to as "The Island" by residents, the Isle of Wight has resorts that have been popular holiday destinations since Victorian times. It is known for its mild climate, coastal scenery, and verdant landscape of fields, downland, and chines. The island is historically part of Hampshire. The island is designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
An image of the Isle of Wight from the ISS
A flint hand axe from the Paleolithic, c. 500,000 BP, found on the island in 2010.
A Neolithic arrowhead from c. 2500 – c. 2100 BCE, found on the island in 2011
An early Bronze Age axehead from c. 2000 – c. 1700 BCE, found on the island in 2011
