Grange Chine and Marsh Chine

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Grange/Marsh Chine
Grange/Marsh Chine on the Isle of Wight
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Grange Chine
Marsh Chine Marsh Chine.jpg
Marsh Chine
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Bottom of Grange 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 Grange Chine starts at the southern edge of Brighstone and runs south-west, crosses under the A3055 Military Road at the hamlet of Marsh Green then continues for about five hundred metres to reach the beach at Brighstone Bay. The Marsh Chine starts to the east of Marsh Green alongside the A3055 and runs west where it joins the larger Grange Chine before it reaches the beach.

Both chines have much shallower sides than other chines on the Isle of Wight and are extensively covered with hardy bushes, stunted trees and scrub.

The Chines drain water from the southern slopes of Brighstone Down and from as far as Shorwell to the east. The stream ( the Buddle Brook) formed is significant enough to power two mills, Yafford Mill and Brighstone Mill, and where it finally drains into the sea the stream is at least four metres wide and is crossed by a small wooden footbridge. Once the stream reaches the pebble beach it soaks in and disappears.

Grange Chine is the location where the first fossils of the dinosaurs Neovenator and Brighstoneus were discovered, following a storm that resulted in a landslide on the chine in 1978.

To the west of the Grange Chine is a holiday park consisting of a campsite and a small number of static caravans. The beach here is often covered in litter.

The Isle of Wight Coastal Path crosses the Grange Chine via a wooden footbridge near the beach.

Related Research Articles

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 Isle of Wight—to describe such topographical features. The term 'bunny' is sometimes used to describe a chine in Hampshire. The term chine is also used in some Vancouver suburbs in Canada to describe similar features.

Brook, Isle of Wight Human settlement in England

Brook is a village on the Isle of Wight, England. According to the Post Office the 2011 census population was included in the civil parish of Brighstone.

Colwell Bay

Colwell Bay is a bay in the west of the Isle of Wight. It is located between the towns of Totland and Yarmouth. The bay's northernmost point is Cliff's End the closest point of the Island to the British mainland, with Hurst Castle lying at the end of a long peninsula just 1500 metres to the northwest. The southernmost point is Warden Point.

Isle of Wight Coastal Path Long-distance footpath on the Isle of Wight, England

The Isle of Wight Coastal Path 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.

Whale Chine

Whale Chine is a geological feature near Chale on the south-west coast of the Isle of Wight, England. One of a number of such chines on the island created by stream erosion of soft Cretaceous and Jurassic rocks, it is a narrow and steep coastal ravine dropping 140 feet through Lower Greensand rocks from clifftop farmland to Chale Bay.

Ladder Chine

Ladder Chine is a geological feature on the south west coast of the Isle of Wight, England. It is west of the village of Chale. It is a sandy coastal ravine, one of a number of such chines on the island created by stream erosion of soft Cretaceous rocks. It leads from the 190 foot high clifftop to a knickpoint approximately halfway down the cliff face above Chale Bay beach.

New Chine

New Chine is a geological feature on the south west coast of the Isle of Wight, England. It is west of the village of Chale. It is a sandy coastal ravine, one of a number of such chines on the island created by stream erosion of soft Cretaceous rocks. It leads from the 190 foot high clifftop to a knickpoint approximately one third of way down the cliff face above Chale Bay beach.

Churchill Chine

Churchill Chine is a geological feature on the south west coast of the Isle of Wight, England. It is west of the village of Brook and just east of Hanover Point. It is a small sandy coastal gully, one of a number of such chines on the island created by stream erosion of soft Cretaceous rocks. It leads from the 30 foot high clifftop to the beach of Brook Bay.

Barnes Chine

Barnes Chine is a geological feature on the south west coast of the Isle of Wight, England. The chine lies just to the west of a small rise called Barnes High and south west of the hamlet of Yafford. It is a small sandy coastal ravine, one of a number of such chines on the island created by erosion of the cliff edge made of soft Cretaceous rock.

Compton Chine

Compton Chine is a geological feature on the south west coast of the Isle of Wight, England. It lies between the village of Brook to the east and Freshwater Bay to the west. It is a small sandy coastal gully, one of a number of such chines on the island created by stream erosion of soft Cretaceous rocks. It leads from the 50 foot high clifftop to the beach of Compton Bay.

Brook Chine

Brook Chine is a geological feature on the south west coast of the Isle of Wight, England. It lies just to the west of the village of Brook. The hamlet of Brookgreen runs along its southern edge.

Chilton Chine

The Chilton 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 Brighstone. It is a small coastal gully, one of a number of such chines on the island created by stream erosion of soft Cretaceous rocks.

Shepherds Chine River valley in England

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.

Cowleaze Chine

Cowleaze 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.

Shippards Chine

Shippards Chine is a geological feature on the south west coast of the Isle of Wight, England. It is west of the village of Brook and just north of Hanover Point.

Chale Bay Human settlement in England

Chale Bay is a bay on the south-west coast of the Isle of Wight, England. It lies to the west of the village of Chale from which it takes its name. It faces south-west towards the English Channel, its shoreline is 3+14 miles (5.2 km) in length and is gently curving. It stretches from Artherfield Point in the north-west to Rocken End in the south-east.

Brighstone Bay

Brighstone Bay is a bay on the south west 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 south west towards the English Channel, its shoreline is 7 km in length and is gently curving. It stretches from Sudmoor Point in the north west to Artherfield Point in the south east.

Buddle Brook River on the Isle of Wight, England

Buddle Brook a small river on the Isle of Wight, England. The Brook drains water from the southern side of Brighstone Down and as far to the east as the village of Shorwell. Its flow is the greatest of the streams in the South-West of the Island. Near the village of Brighstone its body is split into a series of mill ponds built to power Yafford Mill and Brighstone Mill, and controlled ways passing through the village and under the noted local landmark, the Dragon Tree Brighstone. Beyond the village the stream is re-connected into one and flows into Grange/Marsh Chine. These are heavily vegetated and are the largest chine on the Island. The Brook runs all the way to the beach where its mouth is at least 4m wide. Once the stream reaches the pebble beach it soaks in and disappears.

Back of the Wight

Back of the Wight is an area on the Isle of Wight in England. The area has a distinct historical and social background, and is geographically isolated by the chalk hills, immediately to the North, as well as poor public transport infrastructure. Primarily agricultural, the Back of the Wight is made up of small villages spread out along the coast, including Brighstone, Shorwell and Mottistone.

Brighstoneus is a genus of hadrosauriform dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous Wessex Formation of the Isle of Wight, England. The genus contains a single species, Brighstoneus simmondsi, known from a partial skeleton.

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