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{{Location map
|Isle of Wight
|label=Blackgang Chine
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|lon_dir=W | lon_deg=1.31444
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|caption=Blackgang Chine on the Isle of Wight}}
Blackgang Chine is the location of a now-destroyed
chineA chine is a steep-sided river valley where the river flows through coastal cliffs to the sea. Typically these are soft eroding cliffs such as sandstone or clays. The word chine originates from the Saxon "Cinan" meaning a gap or yawn....
(a coastal
ravineA ravine is a very small valley—almost like a canyon but narrower—which is often the product of streamcutting erosion. Ravines are typically classified as larger in scale than gullies, although smaller than valleys. A ravine is generally a slope landform of relatively steep sides, on the order...
) in the soft
CretaceousThe Cretaceous , Latin language for "chalky", usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago . In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows on the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
cliffs near
VentnorVentnor is a seaside resort and civil parish established in the Victorian era on the south coast of the Isle of Wight, England. It lies underneath St Boniface Down , and is built on steep slopes and cliffs leading down to the sea...
at the southern tip of the
Isle of WightThe Isle of Wight is an English island and a county, located 3-5 miles from the south coast of the mainland, in the English Channel. It is separated from mainland England by the Solent and is situated south of the county of Hampshire...
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is home to the Blackgang Chine
amusement parkAmusement park or theme park is the generic term for a collection of rides and other entertainment attractions assembled for the purpose of entertaining a large group of people. An amusement park is more elaborate than a simple city park or playground, usually providing attractions meant to cater...
.
History
Sited below the village of
BlackgangBlackgang is a village on the south coast of the Isle of Wight. It is best known as the location of the Blackgang Chine amusement park which sits to the south of St Catherine's Down....
at the western end of the
UndercliffThe Undercliff is the name of several areas of landslip on the south coast of England. They include ones on the Isle of Wight; on the Dorset-Devon border near Lyme Regis; and on cliffs near Branscombe in East Devon...
, Blackgang Chine was, historically, a spectacular ravine (in 1800 a "steep gaunt ravine" descending 500 feet over about three-quarters of a mile).
The location is based on unstable terrain due to the underlying
Gault ClayThe Gault Clay is a formation of stiff blue clay deposited in a calm, fairly deep water marine environment during the Lower Cretaceous Period...
strata, resulting in a succession of huge landslips giving the area a very rugged appearance akin to the better known
Jurassic CoastThe Jurassic Coast is a World Heritage Site on the English Channel coast of southern England. The site stretches from Orcombe Point near Exmouth in East Devon to Old Harry Rocks near Swanage in East Dorset, a distance of ....
.
On October 11 1836, the cargo ship
Clarendon was wrecked at the foot of Blackgang Chine, with the loss of all aboard.
The chine's scenic potential, along with the increasing popularity of the adjacent Sandrock Spring (a
ChalybeateChalybeate waters, also known as ferruginous waters, are mineral spring waters containing salts of iron.-Name:The word "chalybeate" is derived from the Latin word for steel, "chalybs", which follows from the Greek word "khalups"...
spring) led to the establishment of the Blackgang Chine amusement park in 1843 by Victorian entrepreneur Alexander Dabell, whose descendants have owned it ever since. Allegedly the oldest theme park in the UK, it was originally a general-purpose scenic and curiosity park, featuring a
whaleWhale is the common name for marine mammals of the order Cetacea. The term whale is sometimes used to refer to all cetaceans, but in more common English usage it generally excludes the members of the Delphinoidea superfamily, such as dolphins and porpoises...
skeletonIn biology, a skeleton is a rigid framework that provides protection and structure in many types of animal, particularly those of the phylum Chordata and of the superphylum Ecdysozoa. Exoskeletons are external, as is typical of many invertebrates; they enclose the soft tissues and organs of the...
(which is still a showpiece) and landscaped paths down the chine to a waterfall and the beach below.
Continuing landslides and coastal
erosionErosion is a gravity driven process that moves solids in the natural environment or their source and deposits them elsewhere...
swept away the paths in the early 1900s, and have since obliterated the chine itself and forced the owners to repeatedly move the clifftop facilities inland. The park's focus now is themed entertainment for families with young children, lifesize plastic dinosaurs being a noted feature. The same owners run a sister site, the Robin Hill countryside adventure park.
BlackgangBlackgang is a village on the south coast of the Isle of Wight. It is best known as the location of the Blackgang Chine amusement park which sits to the south of St Catherine's Down....
is also the name of the nearby village. According to a May 2000 talk to the Isle of Wight Postcard Club by the present Director, Mr Simon Dabell, the etymology is simply "black pathway" (the original appearance of the chine), but the theme park understandably fosters the interpretation of a smuggling origin. Thus visitors to the park are greeted by a gigantic fibreglass smuggler between whose legs they could pass to enter.
Clifftop walks in and around the area give panoramic views of the
English ChannelThe English Channel is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest, to only in the Strait of Dover...
and the south-western
Isle of WightThe Isle of Wight is an English island and a county, located 3-5 miles from the south coast of the mainland, in the English Channel. It is separated from mainland England by the Solent and is situated south of the county of Hampshire...
coast.
Blackgang is also notable for
dinosaur{{Otheruses}}{{pp-semi-protected|small=yes}}{{Otheruses}}{{pp-semi-protected|small=yes}}{{Taxobox|name = Dinosaurs|fossil_range = {{Fossil range|230|65|earliest=230|latest=0|PS=
Descendant taxon Aves survives to present.}}|image = field_dinos_2.jpg...
fossils and the nudist Blackgang Beach.
The Blackgang Chine park is featured in the book
Bollocks to Alton TowersBollocks to Alton Towers: Uncommonly British Days Out is a humorous travel book written by Robin Halstead, Jason Hazeley, Alex Morris and Joel Morris , which showcases unusual attractions, left-field museums and one-off days out in the United Kingdom.The introduction describes the book as "a...
, a humorous book concerned with "uncommonly
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
days out". It was chosen for its apparent
eccentricityIn popular usage, eccentricity refers to unusual or odd behavior on the part of an individual. This behavior would typically be perceived as unusual or unnecessary, without being demonstrably maladaptive. Eccentricity is contrasted with "normal" behavior, the nearly universal means by which...
.
Southern VectisSouthern Vectis Omnibus Co. is the dominant bus operator on the Isle of Wight. In 1987 it spawned off and formed the Eastleigh and Southampton bus company Solent Blue Line. It was purchased by the Go-Ahead Group in 2005 and employs 299 staff, with 105 single deck, double deck and open-top buses and...
bus
route 6Southern Vectis route 6 is a bus service operated on the Isle of Wight by Southern Vectis between Newport, Blackgang and Ventnor. It also runs via Carisbrooke, Chillerton, Chale and Niton. The general daytime frequency of the route is every hour each direction...
serves the amusement park on its way between
NewportNewport is a civil parish and the county town of the Isle of Wight, an island off the south coast of England. Newport has a population of 23,957 according to the 2001 census...
&
VentnorVentnor is a seaside resort and civil parish established in the Victorian era on the south coast of the Isle of Wight, England. It lies underneath St Boniface Down , and is built on steep slopes and cliffs leading down to the sea...
. In the summer, the Island Coaster also stops here.
Park Guide
The park combines whimsical and unusual outdoor and walkthrough attractions with award-winning heritage exhibitions and a couple of significant rides.
- Rumpus Mansion: A walk-through attraction inside an old manor house, home to animated goblins, mischievous spirits and other fantasy creatures.
- FantasyLand: Features the walk-through Liquorice Factory, the angry dragon and the animated Weather Wizard show.
- NurseryLand: Various 'life-sized' nursery rhyme
The term nursery rhyme is used for ‘traditional’ songs for young children in Britain and many English speaking countries, but usage only dates from the nineteenth century and in North America the older ‘Mother Goose Rhymes’ is still often used.-Lullabies:...
characters. Many are animated.
- Water Gardens & Maze
- Snakes and Ladders: A giant version of the board game
Snakes and ladders, or Chutes and ladders, is a classic children's board game. It is played between 2 or more players on a playing board with numbered grid squares. On certain squares on the grid are drawn a number of "ladders" connecting two squares together, and a number of "snakes" or "chutes"...
, with large slides.
- Dinosaurland: Numerous fibreglass dinosaurs, most dating back to 1972.
- Buffalo Canyon: Full-scale Old West frontier town including a saloon, jail, covered wagons and more. Very popular.
- The Triassic Club: Comic animated walk-through attraction. Features Darwin the Allosaurus
Allosaurus is a genus of large theropod dinosaur that lived 155 to 145 million years ago, in the late Jurassic period . The name Allosaurus means "different lizard" and is derived from the Greek αλλος/allos and σαυρος/sauros...
, dressed in a tuxedo, who invites guests 'to dinner' and sings a unique version of the 'Eton Boating SongThe Eton Boating Song is the best known of the school songs associated with Eton College that are sung at the end of year concert and on other important occasions. It is also played during the procession of boats. The words of the song were written by William Johnson Cory, an influential Master at...
'.
- The Musical Pet Shop: Animatronic animals sing a rewritten version of 'Up the Swannee River'.
- Crooked House: A small walk-through attraction of disorientating crooked corridors and humorous scenes.
- Butterfly Walk: Larger-than-life butterflies, with signs denoting their respective names.
- Giant Bug Walk: Oversized arthropod
An arthropod is an invertebrate that has an exoskeleton , a segmented body, and jointed attachments called appendages. Arthropods are animals belonging to the Phylum Arthropoda , and include the insects, arachnids, crustaceans, and others...
models installed in 2009.
- Smugglerland: Features the 'Jolly Smuggler' play ship, a play pub, and the Smugglers' Cave, which tells the story of a shipwreck.
- St Catherine's Quay: An award-winning maritime heritage attraction. Home to the famous whale bones and a 37 ft long RNLI lifeboat.
- Blackgang Sawmill: An exhibition 'telling the story of timber'. Features numerous working steam engines.
- Water Force: A 100 ft-long water slide with three chutes.
- Cliffhanger: A small roller coaster
The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first coasters on January 20, 1885...
close to the cliff's edge.
- Pirate's Barrel Ride: A themed version of the traditional fairground teacups
Teacups is an amusement ride characterized by cup-style spinning vehicles atop a turntable-like floor.-Operation:Typically, each set of four teacup vehicles has a circular floor or a motor capable of turning 360 degrees. The circular floor or motor sits within a larger, turntable-like floor...
.
- The Wight Experience: Exciting film show featuring aerial views of the island by helicopter, made by 'Flying Pictures', who worked on many of the James Bond
James Bond 007 is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. The character has also been used in the longest running and most financially successful English language film franchise to date, starting in 1962 with Dr...
and Harry PotterHarry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter, together with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, his friends from the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
films.
- Chocolate Heaven: A chocolate shop selling island-made sweets, chocolate and dairy ice cream.
Former Attractions:
- JungleLand (similar to Dinosaurland, but with jungle animals instead. Replaced with Butterfly and Giant Bug Walks.)
- Model Village (lost to landslip.)
- Frontierland (some lost to landslip; remainder relocated uphill to form Buffalo Canyon)
External links
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ChineA chine is a steep-sided river valley where the river flows through coastal cliffs to the sea. Typically these are soft eroding cliffs such as sandstone or clays. The word chine originates from the Saxon "Cinan" meaning a gap or yawn....
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|place =
Isle of WightThe Isle of Wight is an English island and a county, located 3-5 miles from the south coast of the mainland, in the English Channel. It is separated from mainland England by the Solent and is situated south of the county of Hampshire...
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New ChineNew Chine is a geological feature on the south west coast of the Isle of Wight, England. It is west of the village of Chale. It is a sandy coastal ravine, one of a number of such chines on the island created by stream erosion of soft Cretaceous rocks...
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Luccombe ChineLuccombe Chine is a geological feature and visitor attraction south of the village of Luccombe on the Isle of Wight, England. A wooded coastal ravine, one of a number of such chines on the island created by stream erosion of soft Cretaceous rocks, it leads from the clifftop to Luccombe Bay.The...
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{{Chines on the Isle of Wight}}{{British theme parks}}