LUCCOMBE.

Luccombe Bay

LUCCOMBE BAY.

"This is a place one mile southward of Shanklin, but it has not yet even risen to the modest standing of either village or hamlet.  It has a chine, like Shanklin, but not so beautiful. The chine is, nevertheless, a pretty spot, and rugged and imposing withal. The visitor may reach it by two ways - by rounding Dunnose point along the beach during low tide,  or by passing out of old Shanklin, through Chine Hollow, up Luccombe road, and along the footpath which leads across the field at the top—a  thoroughfare which is much frequented by visitors who walk to and from Ventnor by way of the Landslip. Luccombe Chine Estate was recently purchased by a syndicate of speculators, and has already been laid out in part for building purposes, with a broad carriage way. Passing through the gate into the bridle road, visitor soon reaches

THE LANDSLIP.

and here, if he has time and company, he will be tempted to linger. It is a charming retreat for lovers and picnicers. Nature seems to have played strange pranks with herself in this interesting spot. Huge blocks of stone are set up on end or overhanging obliquely on their edges or corners, and from their summit and the crevices the surrounding trees  have reared their heads until the whole area is almost darkened with the thick mass of foliage. As the name indicates, the rugged glen is the result of a Landslip which occurred about the beginning of the present century. It may be noted by the observer that the range of hills stretching from Shanklin in the direction of Ventnor makes also an eastern detour, and it is the end of this branch which appears to have fallen away. The visitor must pursue the study pf the spot; it is impossible to give him a correct idea of the grandeur of the spectacle by other means. Emerging on the Ventnor side of the Landslip, the visitor suddenly comes upon ........{Bonchurch}

The Minerva Isle of Wight Pictorial and Guide - circa 1900