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Professor Robin McInnes OBE (born 1 October 1949) is a chartered geologist and chartered civil engineer who is an authority on coastal management and ground instability problems; he lives and works on the Isle of Wight, UK. He is a visiting professor at the Department of Geography & Environment, University of Southampton. [1] He is also a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers, the Geological Society of London, the Royal Geographical Society and the Royal Society of Arts.
McInnes read Geology BSc (Hons) at the University of Southampton (1968-1971) and completed a PhD in Integrated Coastal Zone Management at the University of Portsmouth in 2004. After working for local authorities in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight for thirty-five years (1972-2007) he established his own consultancy 'Coastal & Geotechnical Services' [2] in 2007.
McInnes has advised the United Nations, the Council of Europe and the European Commission (DGs Environment and Research) on issues relating to coastal management and natural hazards. He has developed and led successfully thirteen European Union projects; funded by LIFE Environment, Interreg and the VIth and VIIth Framework Programmes. [3]
In December 2007, he was awarded the Crown Estate- Caird (National Maritime Museum) Research Fellowship. [4] From 1995 to 2009, Professor McInnes was Technical Chairman of the Standing Conference of Problems with the Coastline (SCOPAC) and chaired the Coastal Groups of England and Wales from 1997 to 2009. In 2006, he was appointed OBE for 'Services to Flood and Coastal Defence'.
McInnes has a particular interest in coastal risk management and landslide management and has written numerous technical papers, as well as non-technical guidance on coastal and geotechnical issues. He arranged an 'International Conference on Slope Stability' on the Isle of Wight in 1991, which was co-sponsored by the Institution of Civil Engineers. He was Chairman of the Organising Committee for the International Conference on 'Instability - Planning and Management' held at Ventnor, Isle of Wight in May 2002 and was Chairman of the Organising Committees for the Institution of Civil Engineers' 'International Coastal Management Conferences' in 2003 and 2007. In 2007 he also chaired the Organising Committee for the International Conference on 'Climate Change and Landslides' held at Ventnor in May 2007. [5]
Since 2008, McInnes has undertaken a range of research projects for The Crown Estate [6] and Historic England, [7] the Environment Agency [8] and Natural England [9] that have bridged the disciplines of art and science by examining how historical images (paintings, prints, and old photographs) dating back to the late eighteenth century can improve the understanding and management of risks to coasts, coastal heritage, coastal heritage sites and natural environments.
McInnes has particular interest in both British landscape and maritime art, and the history and art of the Isle of Wight, [10] subjects on which he has written a number of books and made numerous illustrated presentations. [11] He has written articles for Country Life, [12] The Antiques Collector, [13] and Island Life, [14] he is a regular writer for Style of Wight [15] magazine.
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The Isle of Wight is an island, English county and unitary authority in the English Channel, 2 to 5 miles off the coast of Hampshire, across the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island in England. Referred to as "The Island" by residents, the Isle of Wight has resorts that have been popular holiday destinations since Victorian times. It is known for its mild climate, coastal scenery, and verdant landscape of fields, downland, and chines. The island is historically part of Hampshire. The island is designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. With a land area of 380 km2 (150 sq mi), it is about half the size of Singapore.
Ventnor is a seaside resort town and civil parish established in the Victorian era on the southeast coast of the Isle of Wight, England, eleven miles (18 km) from Newport. It is situated south of St Boniface Down, and built on steep slopes leading down to the sea. The higher part is referred to as Upper Ventnor ; the lower part, where most amenities are located, is known as Ventnor. Ventnor is sometimes taken to include the nearby and older settlements of St Lawrence and Bonchurch, which are covered by its town council. The population is 5,567 according to the 2021 Census
Blackgang Chine is the oldest amusement park in the United Kingdom, having opened in 1843. Named after a now-destroyed chine in the soft Cretaceous cliffs, it is about 6 miles from Ventnor at the southern tip of the Isle of Wight just below St Catherine's Down. Blackgang Chine and its sister park Robin Hill are owned by the Dabell family. Blackgang Chine is home to many lands of imagination, including Pirate Cove, Restricted Area 5, Fairy Land and Village, and Cowboy Town. Owing to the unstable land on which the park is situated, landslides occur frequently, meaning that attractions have been moved further inland to safer ground on several occasions.
St Lawrence is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Ventnor, on the south coast of the Isle of Wight, in southern England. It is located to the west of the town of Ventnor, in the Undercliff, which is subject to landslips. The Undercliff lies between the original high cliff and the sea, formed over thousands of years, since the last Ice Age, from accumulated landslips. Several rocky coves can be accessed from the coastal path, which affords fine views of some prominent Victorian villas, set in a wooded landscape below the great rock wall of the original sea cliff: Woody Bay, Mount Bay and Orchard Bay. The area of the parish was around 329 acres (133 ha) in size. In 1931 the parish had a population of 329. On 1 April 1933 the parish was abolished and merged with Ventnor.
The Undercliff is the name of several areas of landslip on the south coast of England. They include ones on the Isle of Wight; on the Dorset-Devon border near Lyme Regis; on cliffs near Branscombe in East Devon; and at White Nothe, Dorset. All arose from slump of harder strata over softer clay, giving rise to irregular landscapes of peaks, gullies and slipped blocks, that have become densely vegetated due to their isolation and change of land use. The Kent coast at Folkestone and Sandgate also has similar undercliff areas.
Sandown Bay is a broad open bay which stretches for much of the length of the Isle of Wight's southeastern coast. It extends 8+1⁄2 miles (13.7 km) from Culver Down, near Yaverland in the northeast of the Island, to just south of Shanklin, near the village of Luccombe in the southwest. At Luccombe, the bay is separated from The Undercliff by a large headland from which Upper Ventnor sits atop. The towns of Shanklin, Lake and Sandown are on the bay's coast, while Luccombe and Upper Ventnor feature panoramic views across both Sandown Bay to the East and the Undercliff to the southwest. Due to the bay being relatively sheltered from offshore winds it is often used as temporary anchorage point for boats, including large cargo ships, before continuing east towards Continental Europe, or north towards The Solent.
Chale is a village and civil parish on the Isle of Wight of England, in the United Kingdom. It is located three kilometres from Niton in the south of the Island in the area known as the Back of the Wight. The village of Chale lies at the foot of St. Catherine's Down.
St Catherine's Point is the southernmost point on the Isle of Wight. It is close to the village of Niton and the point where the Back of the Wight changes to the Undercliff of Ventnor.
The A3055 is an A-Class Road on the Isle of Wight in Southern England. It forms the Southern portion of the circular around-the-Island A-class loop, the northern section being the A3054. The stretch along the south-west coast of the Island is formed by the Military Road.
Luccombe is a hamlet a short distance south of Shanklin, on the south coast of the Isle of Wight, England.
Blackgang is a village on the south-western coast of the Isle of Wight, England. It is best known as the location of the Blackgang Chine amusement park which sits to the south of St Catherine's Down.
Steephill is a hamlet near Ventnor, Isle of Wight, England, previously the location of a Victorian country estate with a castle-style mansion, Steephill Castle, which was demolished to build bungalows in the 1960s. Steephill itself now forms part of the suburban development westward from Ventnor.
Bonchurch Landslips is a 28.2-hectare (70-acre) site of special scientific interest which is located north-east of Ventnor, Isle of Wight. A wooded coastal landslip zone, the site was notified in 1977 for both its biological and geological features.
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 rocks, it is a narrow and steep coastal ravine dropping 140 feet through Lower Greensand rocks from clifftop farmland to Chale Bay.
Seagrove Bay is a bay on the northeast coast of the Isle of Wight, England. It lies to the east of the village of Seaview facing towards Selsey Bill with a 2⁄3 mile (1.1 km) shoreline stretching from Nettlestone Point in the north to Horestone Point in the south. The bay has both the Seaside Award Flag and the Water Quality Award.
Luccombe Bay is a bay on the south-east coast of the Isle of Wight, England. It lies to the east of Luccombe Village from which it takes its name. It faces south-east towards the English Channel, its shoreline is 2⁄3 mile (1.1 km) in length. It consists of a predominantly sand and shingle beach lined with sea cliffs which range from 200 to 280 feet in height. It stretches from Horse Ledge in the north to Bordwood Ledge in the south. The sea bottom is a mixture of mud and rocks.
Wheelers Bay is a small bay on the south-east coast of the Isle of Wight, England. It lies to the east of Ventnor. It faces south-east towards the English Channel, its shoreline is 300 yards (270 m) in length. A 90-yard (82 m) section of the bay, to the side of the slipway, is used as dry-storage for boats; in recent years this has been targeted by thieves. The bay is home to an open-air café known as The Seapot.
There once existed a 55+1⁄2-mile (89.3 km) network of railway lines on the Isle of Wight, which operated both as a self-contained railway network, and as links to ferry services between the island and the South coast of Great Britain. The routes were opened by several companies between 1862 and 1901 and modernised after The Grouping in the 1920s. Most of them were permanently closed between 1952 and 1966, whilst the 8+1⁄2-mile-long (13.7 km) Island Line was temporarily closed in 1966 and rebuilt for electric train services, introduced in 1967. Replacement trains were introduced in 1990, and again in 2021 along with a major renewal of the line. A further 5+1⁄2 miles (8.9 km) have reopened as a heritage line known as the Isle of Wight Steam Railway and there have been several proposals to expand the network further since the 1960s, either with conventional heavy rail or by conversion to light rail.
The Undercliff, Isle of Wight, England is a tract of semi-rural land, around 5 miles (8.0 km) long by 0.25–0.5 miles (0.40–0.80 km) wide, skirting the southern coast of the island from Niton to Bonchurch. Named after its position below the escarpment that backs this coastal section, its undulating terrain comprises a mix of rough pasture, secondary woodland, parkland, grounds of large isolated houses, and suburban development. Its sheltered south-facing location gives rise to a microclimate considerably warmer than elsewhere on the island. Although inhabited, the Undercliff is an area prone to landslips and subsidence, with accompanying loss of property over time. Settlements along the Undercliff, from west to east, are: lower Niton, Puckaster, St Lawrence, Steephill, the town of Ventnor, and Bonchurch.
Burt's Brewery, was an independent regional brewery owned by one family for much of its existence. It was founded in 1840 in Ventnor, Isle of Wight, England. Brewing ended at the Ventnor Brewery in 2009, however the Burt's name had not been used since 1998.