Brook Bay
Brook Bay
Brook Bay is a small bay in the southwestern corner of the Island next to Compton Bay. It sits below Brook Down and is National Trust Land. The bay is completely different at every state of the tide. At high tide on a stormy day the waves come right up to the cliffs where as at low tide there are rocky ledges to explore out into the English Channel. Beyond the bay there are views towards Tennyson Down. Its a location that works well for sunset throughout the year.
A Stormy evening at Brook
Getting there:
The Milky way at Brook
Brook Bay is a popular spot and sits on the Military Road between Freshwater Bay and Chale. From Newport there are a choice of routes, the most direct is to head towards Carisbrooke on the B3323. At the Mini Roundabout by the Waverley pub carry on straight across onto the B3401 Middle Road.
The road passes through Calbourne and past Calbourne Mill. Shortly afterwards there is a turning on the left at Chessell. Its Signposted for Chessell Pottery and also Brook. Take this turning and follow the road. You will then come to Brook Church and shortly afterwards a turning on your right hand side.
Take this turning and drive through the small village of Brook until you reach a T Junction. This is the Military Road. Turn right towards Freshwater and almost immediately on the left is the Brook National Trust car park.
This can get busy, especially in Summer, however once parked it is just a short walk down a path and some steps down onto the beach. The actual beach can be slightly difficult to access as there is large step down on to the beach so care needs to be taken.
On the Cliffs above Brook
What to Shoot:
The options really are between heading down onto the beach or photographing from the Cliff top.
On the beach there is a stream cutting through the beach that creates interesting shapes and textures in the beach. This is a good beach for wave trails as there is a gently sloping beach that large waves can roll slowly up.
On the cliff top there are nice views of the bay and in spring and summer there are wild flowers on the cliff tops that can create nice foreground subjects. Walking along the cliff top towards Compton and there is a wooden bridge across a stream. Once over the bridge there is view down the chine and back along Brook Beach. In Winter when the vegetation has died down this can be a good spot to capture the waterfalls as the streams drop down into the main chine.
Back towards the car park there is a view towards the old Coastguard cottages on the other side of Military Road which can be an nice subject for an image.
Other Options:
There is a footpath across the fields which leads up to Brook Down and its views over Compton Farm towards Freshwater and Tennyson down. Walking along the coast line from Brook leads to either Compton Bay to the west or Chilton Chine to the east, both offer opportunities for photography. At Low tide on Brook Beach it is also possible to find dinosaur footprints.