Shepherd's 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 one of the largest on the Isle of Wight. It starts at the side of the A3055 Military Road and runs west for about 500m 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 has much shallower sides than other chines on the Isle of Wight and is extensively covered with hardy bushes, scrub and rough grasses. The Chine drains water from the mainly flat agricultural land surrounding Little Atherfield. The resulting stream used to be collected behind a small

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

and then pumped back onto the surrounding farm land. The remains of the

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

and

pump house Pumping stations, also called pumphouses, are public utility buildings containing pumps and equipment for pumping fluids from one place to another. They are critical in a variety of infrastructure systems, such as water supply, drainage of low ...

, complete with pump, still stand about halfway along the chine. Similarly to

Grange/Marsh Chine Grange Chine and Marsh Chine form a geological feature on the south west coast of the Isle of Wight, England. They lie to the south of the village of Brighstone. These two chines form the largest chine feature on the Isle of Wight. The Grang ...

once the stream reaches 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 ...

beach it soaks in and disappears. To the west of Shepherd's 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 Shepherd's Chine near the pump house.

External links

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