The RX-8

ISLAND HISTORY
The lost
world...
by Nick Pointing
Some would argue finding Niton is like going to the ends of the
earth. Well I disagree. If you live there, then it is the centre of your
universe, however going just that little bit further may seem like it.
The Blackgang Road spurs out of Niton village with vigour. The new
road opens up ‘back of Wight’ as it was once affectionately known,
climbing the hills of St. Catherine’s, the surface is smooth, wide and
with a beautiful sweeping curve that embraces any motorist with a
passion for driving.
Before you know it, it is all over. The brow of the hill brings a truly
inspiring view over the South West Downs and patchwork farmland.
Descending into Blackgang, the gateway to the Military Road unfolds
beyond, yet amongst the bountiful beauty laid out in front we are
guilty of neglecting probably some of the Island’s most impressive
cliffs, but it is a fault which can be forgiven.
The new road glides over a fantastic wilderness hidden below that
was once as familiar and accessibly as the Under cliff of St.
Lawrence. It all came to a sticky end in 1928 with a tremendous
landslide and rock fall of upto 200,000 tons close to Windy Corner at
Rocken End. Today, Gore Cliffs above St. Catherine’s lighthouse is a
sleepy National Trust car park that ends abruptly, teetering on the
edge of no-mans land.
The old Blackgang Road followed a similar route as the current
under cliff hugging close to the contours of the rock face. After
leaving Niton, the route passes St. Catherine’s and onto Windy
Corner; there, back at the turn of the century a famous photograph
captured the very moment the old road gave way, and the image is
now immortalised in just about any local history book regarding the
Isle of Wight.
Although it was one of the first reported landslips of Blackgang, and
probably not the last, it did ultimately lead to the building of the
new road, leaving below a forgotten memory.
Standing in the car park at Rocken End, looking west, it is hard to
imagine that there was ever a way through. The blue slipper has
undermined the weathered cliffs, now home to nesting seagulls,
leaving a moonscape of debris interwoven with pockets of greenery.
Access to a small community came to a sad end in the winter of
1994/1995 with a huge landslide which hit the headlines of the
national media. An entourage of press and television overwhelmed
Blackgang and Chale, reporting of the severity of the slide and the
reluctance of local residents to move out.
Die- harders' fought to stay despite the Council condemning the
land, but finally the small hamlet of caravans, cabins and a grand
Victorian house fell ever deeper into a lost world.
Gaining access today is certainly not recommended due to the
unpredictable land movement reinforced by council warning signs.
However, some of us wayward folk ventured forth. Midway
between Niton and Blackgang is a stretch of road cut off from the
outside world. The surface is still with tarmac, and ivy clad stone
walls separating road from dwelling. The sense of isolation is
intriguing with an air of lost reality. There aren’t many places in
the world which are trapped in time, we are so used to development
that it is hard to appreciate a place of neglect.
I believe Salisbury Plain has a village unchanged since the war, now
preserved by the MOD and a flooded valley exposes its residential
treasures only during droughts, but to have this on our doorstep is
56 Island Life - www.islandlifemagazine.net