Island Life June July 2015 June July 2015 | Page 41

FEATURE
The Haven runs a regular schedule of
daily talks by keepers, as well as monkey
feeds, snake talks and the opportunity to
get face-to-face with one of the resident
owls.

Shanklin Chine

I

t’s one of the UK’s earliest tourist
attractions, and certainly was the
first one on the Isle of Wight – in fact,
Shanklin Chine is heading for its bicentenary in 2017!
Queen Victoria was just a teenager
when she first visited the stunning
attraction with her mother. At that time,
William Colenutt, who built Fishermans
Cottage in 1817, had the concession to
charge admissions to the Chine.
Now almost 200 years on, visitors
can still enjoy the unique
tranquility of the famous
leafy gorge which
has been admired
by poets, artists
and writers
down the
ages. The
steep-sided
winding
woodland
is a magical
place for rare
plants, wildlife
and enchanting
waterfalls.
Visit the nature hide
with live action from the squirrels’
feeding station, and remember the
Chine is illuminated after dusk during
the summer season.
There’s also a permanent display to
PLUTO (Pipe Line Under The Ocean),
with new material for this year.