50º39N 1º09W, pop (2000e) 17 200 (with Shanklin). Town in Isle of Wight, S England, UK; on Sandown Bay, S of Ryde and N of Shanklin; home of the poet Swinburne; railway; boatbuilding, electrical goods, tourism.
Sandown is a seaside resort town on the south-east coast of the Isle of Wight, England, neighbouring the town of Shanklin to the south. Sandown Bay is the name of the bay off the English Channel which both towns share, and it is notable for its long stretch of easily accessible golden sandy beach. It is the site of the lost Sandown Castle, Isle of Wight.
Natural interests
Sandown is a typical Victorian seaside town, but is surrounded by a wealth of natural features. Nearby inland are Sandown Levels, one of the few freshwater wetlands on the Isle of Wight, where Alverstone Mead Local Nature Reserve is a very popular spot for birdwatching. At extreme low tide a petrified forest is partially revealed in the northern part of Sandown Bay, and fragments of petrified wood are regularly washed up on the beach.
Tourism
Sandown has been a seaside resort town since the Victorian age thanks to its sands and the sunny weather on the Isle of Wight compared to other parts of the United Kingdom. Its success, along with that of other neighbouring Isle of Wight resorts led to the building of a railway connecting Sandown with Ventnor at the south and Ryde on the north coast of the Island. Sandown railway station is still on the one remaining operational railway on the Island, which now goes from Ryde Pier Head to Shanklin.
Today, Sandown Esplanade boasts some fine Victorian and Edwardian hotels which overlook the golden sands of the beach below. Sandown Pier hosts a large amusement centre with arcade games and children's play areas, typical of a sea-side resort.
Cities links
Sandown is twinned (jumelée in french) with the town of Tonnay-Charente, in the western French département of Charente-Maritime.
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