Top 10 Facts about The Needles

The Needles, Isle of Wight, England by Simon Burchell – Wikimedia Commons

Top 10 Facts about The Needles

The Needles is a row of three stacks of chalk that rise about 30m out of the sea off the western extremity of the Isle of Wight in the English Channel, United Kingdom, close to Alum Bay, and part of Totland, the westernmost civil parish of the Isle of Wight. The Needles Lighthouse stands at the outer, western end of the formation. Built in 1859, it has been automated since 1994.

The waters and adjoining seabed form part of the Needles Marine Conservation Zone and the Needles along with the shore and heath above are part of the Headon Warren and West High Down Site of Special Scientific Interest. Here are the top 10 facts about the Needles.

1. The formation takes its name from a fourth needle-shaped pillar called Lot’s Wife

The Needles by Creative Commons Attribution – Wikimedia Commons

On the Isle of Wight close to Alum Bay lies three chalks, each rising at least 30m high. Many have called it Seven Wonders of the World while others see it as a natural phenomenon that is worth celebrating.

There are three rocks in the Isle of Wight collectively called The Needles. Interestingly, the rocks got their name from a fourth rock, which is a needle-shaped pillar. Lot’s wife, as it was called, collapsed in a 1764 storm. 

2. The Needles were featured on the BBC Two TV programme Seven Natural Wonders

The Needles were featured on the BBC Two TV programme Seven Natural Wonders in 2005 as one of the wonders of Southern England. 

Seven Natural Wonders is a television series that was broadcast on BBC Two from 3 May to 20 June 2005. The programme takes an area of England each week and, from votes by the people living in that area, shows the ‘seven natural wonders’ of that area in a programme. 

3. The Needles are a tourist attraction

The Needles, Isle of Wight, England by Simon Burchell – Wikimedia Commons

The Needles lie just to the southwest of Alum Bay, and are a tourist draw. Scenic boat trips operate from Alum Bay that offer close-up views of the Needles. 

The rocks and lighthouse have become icons of the Isle of Wight, often photographed by visitors, and are featured on many of the souvenirs sold throughout the island. 

4. The Needles were a site of a long-standing artillery battery

In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit or multiple systems of artillery, mortar systems, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, surface-to-surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, etc., so grouped to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems.

The term is also used in a naval context to describe groups of guns on warships. The Needles were a site of a long-standing artillery battery, from the 1860s to 1954, which was eventually decommissioned.

5. In 1982, Prince Charles officially opened the restored Needles Old Battery facility

+ The Needles, Isle of Wight, England by Simon Burchell – Wikimedia Commons

In 1982, Prince Charles officially opened the restored Needles Old Battery facility. Underground rocket testing rooms are currently being restored for exhibition. Th+++e first phase of restoration was completed in 2004. 

The batteries are accessible by car, foot, bicycle, and bus. Though there is a paved road up to The Old and The New batteries, access is on foot, from a car park.The battery site becomes dangerous in high winds and is closed to the public in winds above force 8. 

6. The Isle of Wight sweet factory is one of the most interesting attractions near the Needles

The Isle of Wight sweet factory is one of the most interesting attractions you can find near the rock. They manufacture unique and delicious sweets that will make your taste buds sing. Guests are also allowed to watch how the sweets are made and sample different types of delicacies and recipes.

7. The Needles pointed shape is a result of their unusual geology

The Needles, Isle of Wight by Bob Linsdell – Wikimedia Commons

The Needles’ pointed shape is a result of their unusual geology. The strata have been so heavily folded during the Alpine Orogeny that the chalk is near vertical. 

This chalk outcrop runs through the center of the Island from Culver Cliff in the east to the Needles in the west, and then continues under the sea to the Isle of Purbeck, forming Ballard Cliff (near Swanage), Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door. At Old Harry Rocks (east of Studland and north of Swanage) these strata lines moving from horizontal to near vertical can be seen from the sea. 

8. The Southern Vectis bus company sends open-top buses along a route called The Needles Breezer

In the spring and summer, the Southern Vectis bus company sends open-top buses along a route called The Needles Breezer. This route approaches the Battery along the cliff edge, using a road reserved for bus traffic. The Needles Breezer also has stops in Alum Bay, Totland, Colwell Bay, Fort Victoria, Yarmouth, and Freshwater Bay.

Breezer buses are the only vehicles allowed on the road from Alum Bay, apart from those owned by National Trust staff or, by prior appointment, vehicles transporting disabled visitors. This is because the single track road’s position close to the cliff edge is considered dangerous for multiple car use.

9. The shape of the Needles Lot’s Wife stone column, recorded as collapsing in 1764, is subject to some speculation

A drawing of The Needles by Dutch landscape artist Lambert Doomer (1624–1700), made in 1646, depicts a rock formation with much stouter shape than that shown in Isaac Taylor’s 1759 “one inch” map of Hampshire. The Doomer etching is contained in Atlas Blaeu-Van der Hem , which is in the Austrian National Library in Vienna. It is not clear from these drawings what transpired and whether Doomer was exercising artistic license. Doomer’s painting shows three stacks when there should have been four, prior to the collapse of Lot’s Wife.

10. The highest recorded wind gust in England was provisionally recorded at The Needles

Storm Eunice on 18 February 2022, the highest recorded wind gust in England was provisionally recorded at The Needles, at 122 miles per hour. This was an intense extratropical cyclone that is part of the 2021–2022 European windstorm season. Storm Eunice was named by the UK Met Office on 14 February 2022. 

A red weather warning was issued on 17 February for parts of South West England and South Wales, with a second red warning issued on 18 February, the day the storm struck, for London, the South East and East of England.