VISIT FORT VICTORIA COUNTRY PARK

The Country Park by the Sea

THE COUNTRY PARK

The Forts attractions together with the availability of a Countryside Ranger to give guided walks of the seashore and woodland make Fort Victoria an excellent interesting and educational visit for school groups and any visitor to the Isle of Wight who wants to combine leisure with education. Why not stop for lunch at Verdi's Cafe whilst looking out over the Solent, then get back to the rest of the fun that the park offers.

NATURAL BEACH & COASTLINE

 Fossils and Rock Pools

Take a walk along our fossil rich beach, The shore at Fort Victoria being mostly sand with some rocks and boulder areas, Has a reputation as one of the islands best for beachcombing especially for fossils amongst the shingle. 

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 The rapidly eroding shoreline is interesting to the fossil hunter. Mollusc shells are evident to all, the keen eyed will also find pieces of turtle shell and crocodile scutes whose owners lived when the Isle of Wight was a rather warmer place! You are sure to find fragments of Turtle millions of years old left from when the area was a tropical swamp. 

The park has approximately 1km of beach, which is close to the Fort, car park and facilities. The sea wall and beach is popular with fishermen and visitors who enjoy watching the passing yachts and boats. The Country Park is an excellent place to watch the annual round the Island Race. However swimming is not advised due to the fast-flowing currents. 

Sconce Point is popular amongst Island birdwatchers for its seabird passage in the spring and autumn.

School groups are recommended to book the services of a Countryside Ranger as a guide. An increasing number of schools now combine a Ranger Tour of the Park with visits to the Forts other educational attractions, making Fort Victoria a favourite visit for many parties 

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WOODLAND NATURE TRAIL

22 Hectares of woodland to explore

Fort Victoria Country Park occupies 22 hectares of woodland and landslip on the North West shore of the Isle of Wight. There are peaceful woodland walks alongside stunning sea views across the Solent. The Park is used by schools interested in seashore and woodland study, fossil hunters and those who just want to walk or sit and enjoy the atmosphere. The surrounding Country Park offers Seashore and Woodland walks and the site is one of the best vantage points for watching the Solents boats and shipping.

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The Country Park has the old Military Road that once connected Fort Victoria with Fort Albert running though the park. Within easy walking distance of Yarmouth, the footpaths and walks through the park connect Yarmouth on the eastern side of the Yar Estuary with Totland in the west. 

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The woodland is a combination of planted trees such as Corsican Pines and a variety of native deciduous trees the area having developed in a semi natural fashion, management now aims to maximise the variety of habitats by cutting or coppicing some areas and letting others develop to maturity. The variety of habitats is greatly increased by the eroding coastline resulting in slippage over much of the park

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The quiet visitor may be lucky enough to see a beautiful (but shy) Red Squirrel, the Isle of Wight is one of the last places in Britain where these can still be found. The Solent has so far proved a effective barrier to its invading competitor the Grey Squirrel. Download Nature trail Map Here

HISTORIC FORT

Built in 1855

The present building with its series of arched gun casemates is all that is left of a massive triangular fort. The barracks blocks were demolished in 1968 but the building of Fort Victoria was the culmination of many hundreds of years of protection for the area. The area is also known as Sconce Point from the Dutch word ‘’ schans ‘’ for fortification. Henry VIII built both Yarmouth Castle and Hurst Castle to defend the narrow channel.

Although Fort Victoria was a state of the art construction at the time it was soon outdated by rifled shell firing guns and armoured ships. Both Fort Victoria and its near neighbour Fort Albert, 1.5 km to the west, were built as precursors for the Palmerston forts built to protect Portsmouth in the 1860s. Each of the brick casemates housed a single gun mounted on a large wooden platform. In addition to the 21 guns in the remaining casemates, there were 6 mounted on the roof of the barracks blocks.
 

The footprint of the barracks blocks may be seen outlined in the car park which was originally the parade ground within the fort. Once the guns were removed Fort Victoria was used for experimental work on searchlights and sea mines. Latterly the casemates were formed into workshops and it became an important training base. When the soldiers were in occupation the surroundings were kept clear to provide a wide field of view for the artillery. The woodland has grown up since then.

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