Culver Cliff, Isle of Wight
Historical Description
Culver Cliff, a picturesque chalk headland at the E end of the Isle of Wight, 2½ miles E of Brading. " The chalk rises directly out of the sea, very nearly perpendicular, to a great height, and being totally in shadow when opposed to the blue sky above and the pellucid green of the sea at its foot, it has a sort of aerial tint which looks as it were semi-transparent, while here and there a'projecting sharp point of the terminating edge of the cliff, catching the sunshine, is of a whiteness so resplendent that it seems to sparkle by its own native light." Hawks were here in the time of Elizabeth, and an eagle's nest was taken in 1780; but only seagulls now frequent it. The down above is 355 feet high, has an obelisk to the memory of the Earl of Yarborough, and connects with the chain of heights extending westward through the island to Freshwater Bay.
Maps
Online maps of Culver Cliff are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- OpenStreetMap.
- old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
- Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)