Become a member
Join today and help protect nature, beauty and history – for everyone, for ever. Enjoy access to more than 500 places with National Trust membership.
One of the Island's favourite beaches and biggest expanses of open downland
Compton, Isle of Wight, PO30 4HB
Asset | Opening time |
---|---|
Countryside | Dawn - Dusk |
Three pay and display car parks at Brook, Hanover and Compton Chine. Pay by phone and cash facilities for non-members at Brook and Hanover car parks. Free parking for National Trust members, please remember to scan your cards. Other car parks: east end of Brook Down, Afton Down and Freshwater Cliffs. No overnight parking.
Food and drinks available from mobile catering van (seasonal).
Dogs welcome on beach between Hanover Point and Brook Chine all year. Seasonal dog ban on beach west of Compton Bay car park (15th May – 15th September). Dogs welcome elsewhere - please keep your dog on a short lead around livestock and under close control at all other times.
Toilets available at Hanover Point car park (open from Friday 29 March 2024).
Some relatively level walking on the coast path. Paths on downs are steep. with stiles, kissing gates and steps. Tennyson Trail (Brook to Freshwater Bay) includes bridle gates and field gates. Sea is quite shallow for a long way out. Strong surf and currents, depending on weather. Access to beach is via short flights of wooden steps with hand rails at Compton Bay car park and Brook, and via a long flight of wooden steps with hand rails near Compton Chine.
There is some relatively level walking on the coast path.
Most of the paths up onto the downs are steep.
Available at Hanover Point car park (closed from 1 Nov for winter).
There are a number of stiles, kissing gates and steps. The Tennyson Trail (Brook to Freshwater Bay) includes bridle gates. Field gates also on Tennyson Trail across the downs. Access to the beach is via short flights of wooden steps with handrails at Hanover car park and Brook, and via a long flight of wooden steps with handrails near Compton Chine.
Compton Bay lies on the A3055 Military Road which follows the coast between Freshwater Bay to Niton. The downs can also be accessed from the Military Road.
There are many footpaths in this area: consult Ordance Survey Landranger Map 196 or OS Explorer OL29. The waymarked Isle of Wight Coast Path passes along the cliff tops at Compton Bay.
Southern Vectis bus service from Newport stops at Compton Bay in the summer. For details of bus timetables see www.islandbuses.info.
The 'Round the Island' cycle path passes by Compton Bay on the A3055 Military Road.
Discover all about visiting Compton Bay and Downs, Isle of Wight, with your four-legged friend. Compton Bay and Downs is a two pawprint rated place. Please be aware that at this time of year (until 15 Sept) dogs are are not permitted on the beach west of Compton Bay car park but are welcome on the beach between Hanover Point and Brook Chine.
One of the Island's favourite beaches, the shallow bay is the best place for surfing. The cliffs are a rich source of dinosaur fossils.
Wildlife-rich Afton, Brook and Compton Downs and Dunsbury, are one of the biggest expanses of open downland, covered in wildflowers and colourful butterflies.
Sat 22 June 10am - 4pm. The BioBlitz at Dunsbury is at a really exciting location for wildlife and we’d love you to come and be part of it. We took on care of The Dunsbury Estate above Compton Bay in 2015. Since then, we've set about evolving it from intensive farming to a wildlife-rich landscape that’s farmed in a more sustainable way. Join us to discover the species that are now calling this area home. Will you spot the rare Glanville Fritillary butterfly, see skylarks or cat’s ear? All you need to do is photograph plants and animals you see on your phone, and our seasoned naturalists will help identify them.
Various dates throughout the summer holidays. Join award-winning Wight Coast Fossils on a guided fossil walk at Compton Bay and discover indisputable evidence that dinosaurs once roamed across the Island. Compton beach is one of the best places to encounter the Island’s rich geological past. During one of the walks, you'll learn more about this amazing history; have an opportunity to find fossilised bone, teeth and wood; and even see huge dinosaur foot casts laying on the beach. Booking is essential. Please follow the link for more information.
Discover one of the Isle of Wight’s favourite spots with plenty of space to explore, search for fossils, spot local wildlife, surf, cycle and ride your horse.
Go fossil hunting and discover history on a gigantic scale, with dinosaur footprints, fossilised oyster shells, ammonites, flint made from ancient sponges and modern-day shipwrecks
A 7.5 mile walk around Compton Bay and Afton Ridge, taking in far-reaching views and the dinosaur fossil beach.
Admire the coastal views, learn about the coastguard's early beginnings and spot wildlife such as birds and butterflies on this circular trail through the Dunsbury Estate.
This walk passes along the chalk ridge that runs through the middle of the Isle of Wight, one of the best places in the country for spotting rare butterflies, including Adonis blue, small blue, dark-green fritillary and Glanville fritillary.
A farm worker’s cottage a short walk from Compton Bay and with views of chalky cliffs and grazing cows.
One half of a pair of farm workers’ cottages close to Compton Bay close to the best surfing spots.
Various dates through the summer holidays. Join Wight Coast Fossils at Compton Bay and travel back in time 130 million years to the Cretaceous period as you discover the fossils of the Compton coast.
Home to what is generally considered to be one of the best beaches on the Island and backed by fossil-rich cliffs, Compton Bay is the perfect place for families to enjoy soft sands, sparkling waters and dinosaur footprint hunting. From creating a sandcastle and surfing the waves in the summer to talking a wild winter walk along the beach, the many coloured cliffs and the coastal views to Dorset provide a wonderful backdrop and a fascinating geological history stretching back millions of years.
Shaped by the sea, dramatic coastal erosion creates a landscape that is filled with a range of nationally and internationally important plants and animals. From the coast, a network of footpaths crosses the rising chalk downland to the Tennyson Trail on the very top of the ridge, making it perfect walking country. The wildlife-rich grassland that grows here, considered the best on the Island, is home of a great number of flowers and butterflies including the Island’s own Glanville fritillary. We’re currently working to change more areas of this landscape so that the whole of it becomes rich in wildlife for generations to come.
Discover the Isle of Wight project that aims to return the landscape to wildlife, where people can walk, as well as enjoy butterfly and birdwatching.
Find out about the improvements we've made to the car park and visitor facilities at Compton Bay.
Read our view regarding the future of the Military Road and how we’ll judge any impact on the land and nature we look after.
Join today and help protect nature, beauty and history – for everyone, for ever. Enjoy access to more than 500 places with National Trust membership.