Walks on Ashey Down, a chalk ridge on the Isle of Wight, command breathtaking views across the island and Solent
Walks on Ashey Down, a chalk ridge on the Isle of Wight, command breathtaking views across the island and Solent to Portsmouth and farther from Southampton to Chichester. The present landscape of the East Wight Chalk Ridge near Alverstone exists as direct result of historic processes including the prehistoric clearance of woodland on the chalk, the use of downland as manorial common grazing in medieval and post-medieval times and some arable cultivation dating back to prehistoric times but becoming more widespread in the 19th and 20th centuries. There are archaeological earthworks of various periods and these contribute to the Area’s present character, as do the military structures on Bembridge Down and Culver Down. There are ancient barrows on the eastern slope, and pillow mounds covered by unploughed grassland. The barrow cemetery is located on the eastern slope of Ashey Down near the sea mark. The barrows should not be confused with the nearby pillow mounds - Pillow mounds were artificial rabbit warrens. They are thought to date from the late medieval period, when rabbits were far more precious than they are today. The Ashey Seamark is also located here, constructed in 1735 - in a variation on the medieval beacon system the Navy built four semaphore stations at key high points on the Island relaying shipping to the Admiral in Portsmouth. The cut stone is a triangular but may be the remaining stump of a needle shaped object.
Size: 6000px × 4000px
Location: Ashey Down, Isle of Wight, England, UK
Photo credit: © Philip Chapman / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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