Isle of Wight beaches:
Bembridge and St. Helens

The Isle of Wight beaches at Bembridge and St. Helens may not be the most popular on the island, but each has some very good points.

BEMBRIDGE, for example, is best known not as a 'seaside' town, but as a large, sheltered harbour for visiting yachtsmen, around which are various industrial units pertaining to boating and other marine industries.

Bembridge Harbour

The small town of Bembridge is very pleasant and it has a few quaint shops, but it is a fair way from 'the beach' - which is actually quite hard to find! Your best bet is to look for any signs pointing to the Lifeboat Station (which, by default, must be located on the beach) and follow them!

Unlike Sandown, Shanklin and Ventnor, Bembridge has no Esplanade, so you will not find amusements or shops selling buckets and spades and postcards. But what you will find are fabulous ROCK POOLS at low tide. It's worth a visit just to explore these. Ideal for young marine biologists!

Rock pools at Bembridge

Near the Lifeboat Station you will find a car park (charges apply) and a small shop selling ice-creams etc. And next to the car park, along Fishermans Walk, you will find a very pleasant grassed area with trees and benches which overlooks the sea - a very good place to sit and watch the boats go by!

Isle of Wight beaches: Bembridge Ledge from Fishermans Walk

ST. HELENS beach is best described as the seaward edge of The Duver (a spit of land which forms the northern banks of Bembridge Harbour). The Duver is sandy and slightly undulating and was used in Victorian days as a golf course. The whole area is now maintained by The National Trust.

Looking down onto The Duver and Bembridge Harbour

To find St Helens beach look out for a sign in the village pointing to The Duver. This will take you down Duver Road, past St Helens Common, past the entrance to The Duver, and down to the sea where, space permitting, you can park near the remains of St Helens Church.

Isle of Wight beaches: St. Helens

St Helens beach is a mixture of sand and pebbles and it has breakwaters at regular intervals. A sea wall runs its full length, above which is a wide, concreted walkway (called the 'Promenade'), a row of beach huts, some fairly ancient toilets and a cafe. There are no other facilities.

Lots of families do come here (mainly those staying nearby at Nodes Point Holiday Centre), but in my opinion it's not the safest place for very small children. The beach shelves quite steeply and boats pass very close by on their way into Bembridge Harbour. Red and green buoys are visible just off the shore marking the channel. So, for obvious reasons, you must take great care when swimming here. On the other hand, if you like watching boats, it's a super place at any time of year - and the view across to Bembridge Point is lovely!

St Helens beach looking towards Bembridge Point

Well, as I've said, Bembridge and St Helens may not be the most popular beaches on the Isle of Wight, but they do have their good points.

For further information on other Isle of Wight beaches simply click on the following BLUE links:-

The beaches of Sandown Bay (SANDOWN and SHANKLIN)

VENTNOR beach and STEEPHILL COVE

FRESHWATER BAY and COMPTON BAY

RYDE and APPLEY beach

COLWELL BAY and TOTLAND BAY


Return from Isle of Wight beaches to HOME PAGE