Cowleaze Chine is a geological feature on the south west coast of the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It lies to the west of the village of

Little Atherfield Little Atherfield is a small hamlet in the civil parish of Shorwell, on the Isle of Wight, England. It is near the coast in the Back of the Wight. The Isle of Wight is situated off the south coast of England England is a Countries of t ...

. This

chine A chine () is a steep-sided coastal gorge where a river flows to the sea through, typically, soft eroding cliffs of sandstone or clays. The word is still in use in central Southern England—notably in East Devon, Dorset, Hampshire and the Is ...

is just to the west of the larger Shepherd's Chine. It starts just off the side of the A3055 Military Road and runs south west for about 250m to reach the beach at

Brighstone Bay Brighstone Bay is a bay on the southwest 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 southwest towards the English Channel, its shoreline is in leng ...

just to the north of

Atherfield Point Atherfield is a rural location in the south west of the Isle of Wight, UK. It includes the small settlements of Atherfield Green and Little Atherfield, as well as several farms, and is set in largely open farmland. To the south west it is bounde ...

. This chine's vegetation is a mixture of hardy bushes, scrub and rough grasses. At the widest part of the chine erosion and layers of grey sediment are visible. The Chine drains water from the mainly flat agricultural land to its north. The resulting stream reaches the coast at the top of a small cliff and falls the remaining 5m to the beach below where it soaks into the

pebble A pebble is a clastic rocks, clast of rock (geology), rock with a grain size, particle size of based on the Particle size (grain size), Udden-Wentworth scale of sedimentology. Pebbles are generally considered larger than Granule (geology), gra ...

s and disappears. Originally the Chine would have been fed by the flow of water that now supplies neighbouring

Shepherd's Chine Shepherd's Chine is a geological feature on the south west coast of the Isle of Wight, England. It lies to the west of the village of Little Atherfield. This chine is one of the largest on the Isle of Wight. It starts at the side of the A305 ...

. To the east of Cowleaze Chine is the Atherfield Bay Holiday Centre consisting of a

campsite Campsite, campground, and camping pitch are all related terms regarding a place used for camping (an overnight stay in an outdoor area). The usage differs between British English and American English. In British English, a ''campsite'' is an ...

and chalets. The

Isle of Wight Coastal 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 pat ...

crosses Cowleaze Chine near the campsite.

References

External links

Useful info on chines of West Wight
{{Chines on the Isle of Wight Chines of the Isle of Wight