Pilot the Isle of Wight: Bembridge Ledge to Cowes

Navigational tips and beauty spots around the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight.

Bembridge to Cowes

Quarr Abbey

You can still see ruins of the original Abbey in the monastery grounds. Photo: John Armagh

Binstead was the source of the famous limestone that was quarried and exported to the mainland for use in constructions like the Tower of London, Winchester Cathedral, Southampton’s city walls. On the hill above you might catch a glimpse of the Benedictine monastery Quarr Abbey, named after the excavation of the limestone. Originally the Abbey of Our Lady of the Quarry, a Cistercian order founded in 1132, the Abbey was demolished after the dissolution of the monasteries and its stone used, along with that from Beaulieu Abbey, to build castles at Cowes and Yarmouth. The current monastery was built in 1912 but there are still some ruins of the original to be seen.

  1. 1. Introduction
  2. 2. Bembridge Ledge
  3. 3. Around Bembridge to Seaview
  4. 4. St Helen's Fort
  5. 5. Priory Bay
  6. 6. The Debnigo
  7. 7. Ryde - the loss of the Royal George
  8. 8. Player's Beach
  9. 9. Quarr Abbey
  10. 10. Along Peel Bank
  11. 11. King's Quay Creek
  12. 12. Osborne Bay
  13. 13. Old Castle Point
  14. 14. Saunders-Roe
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