Tennyson Down is a hill at the west end of the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

just south of

Totland Totland is a village, civil parish and electoral ward on the Isle of Wight. Besides the village of Totland, the civil parish comprises the western tip of the Isle of Wight, and includes The Needles, Tennyson Down and the hamlet of Middleton. Th ...

. Tennyson Down is a grassy, whale-backed ridge of chalk which rises to 482 ft/147m above sea level. Tennyson Down is named after the poet

Lord Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...

who lived at nearby

Farringford House Farringford House, in the village of Freshwater Bay, Isle of Wight, was the home of the poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson, from 1853 until his death in 1892. The main house dates from 1806 with gothic embellishments and extensions added from the 1830s. ...

for nearly 40 years. The poet used to walk on the down almost every day, saying that the air was worth 'sixpence a pint'.

Overview

It is part of the chalk ridge that forms the backbone of the Isle of Wight, this ridge extends to the west for where it ends with

The Needles The Needles is a row of three stacks of chalk that rise about out of the sea off the western extremity of the Isle of Wight in the English Channel, United Kingdom, close to Alum Bay and Scratchell's Bay, and part of Totland, the westernmo ...

. To the east the hill descends gently down to Freshwater Bay where the sea has cut through the ridge. To the south is

Highdown Cliffs Highdown may refer to: * Highdown Gardens, a garden in Worthing, England * Highdown Hill, a prominent hill in the South Downs, England * Highdown New Mill, Angmering, a tower mill in Sussex, England * Highdown School Highdown School and Sixth Fo ...

, a near vertical chalk cliff drop of over 100 metres to the sea below. The top of the Down is fairly flat and is predominantly grass downland which provides a wide area for walking. There is some scrubland and small trees mainly on the northern side which is away from the prevailing wind. The Down is owned and managed by the National Trust and is grazed by cattle and rabbits which ensures that its grass surface is closely cropped. It is open to the public. Tennyson Monument, Tennyson Down, IW, UK

Tennyson Monument, Tennyson Down, IW, UK

At the top of the Down at a height of 147m stands a huge granite cross commemorating the life of Alfred Lord Tennyson. From here on a clear day it is possible to see

Old Harry Rocks Old Harry Rocks are three chalk formations, including a Stack (geology), stack and a stump, located at Handfast Point, on the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, southern England. They mark the most eastern point of the Jurassic Coast, a UNESCO World H ...

and the

Isle of Purbeck The Isle of Purbeck is a peninsula in Dorset, England. It is bordered by water on three sides: the English Channel to the south and east, where steep cliffs fall to the sea; and by the marshy lands of the River Frome and Poole Harbour to the no ...

to the west, Yarmouth and

Lymington Lymington is a port town on the west bank of the Lymington River on the Solent, in the New Forest district of Hampshire, England. It faces Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, to which there is a car ferry service operated by Wightlink. It is within the ...

to the north, and to the east, much of the

Solent The Solent ( ) is a strait between the Isle of Wight and Great Britain. It is about long and varies in width between , although the Hurst Spit which projects into the Solent narrows the sea crossing between Hurst Castle and Colwell Bay t ...

, Fawley Oil Refinery, a large part of the western half of the Isle of Wight, and St. Catherine's Point, 20 km away across

Brighstone Bay Brighstone Bay is a bay on the south west coast of the Isle of Wight, England. It lies to the south and west of the village of Brighstone from which it takes its name. It faces south west towards the English Channel, its shoreline is 7 km ...

. Surprisingly it is not possible to see the Needles from here as they are hidden beyond the next hill to the west which is known as

West High Down West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...

. The

Tennyson Trail The Tennyson Trail is a 14-mile walk from Carisbrooke to The Needles on the Isle of Wight. The route goes through Bowcombe Down, Brighstone Forest, Mottistone Down, Brook Down, Afton Down, Freshwater Bay, Tennyson Down, and West High Down to ...

, an Isle of Wight footpath, passes right along Tennyson Down and also makes up part of the

Isle of Wight Coast Path The Isle of Wight Coastal Path (or Coastal Footpath) is a circular long-distance footpath of 70 miles (113 km) around the Isle of Wight, UK. It follows public footpaths and minor lanes, with some sections along roads. Route The p ...

in this area. Tennyson Down is one of the most significant downland sites in Britain. It forms the western end of the

Tennyson Heritage Coast Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Go ...

. It is part of the Headon Warren And West High Down SSSI ( Site of Special Scientific Interest) and is part of the Isle of Wight's

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of ...

. Image:Towards_Freshwater_from_Tennyson.JPG, From Eastern side of Tennyson Down; looking towards Freshwater Bay Image:Cliffs_of_the_Down.JPG, The Monument in the far distance Image:Tennyson_Monument_Closeup.JPG, Close-up of Monument Image:Tennyson_Monument_Western.JPG, Western face of Tennyson Monument Image:Tennyson Down Shrubbery.JPG, Shrubbery of Tennyson Down Image:Trees Windswept.JPG, Trees face heavy wind thus grow in interesting shapes Image:Flower on the Down.JPG, Tiny purple flower found on Tennyson Down Image:Blue Flower found on Tennyson Down.JPG, Tiny blue flower found on Tennyson Down

External links

IOW AONB map

English Nature SSSI citation sheet

{{Coord, 50.66647, -1.54150, type:landmark_region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(SZ325853), display=title Sites of Special Scientific Interest on the Isle of Wight Hills of the Isle of Wight