St. Helens Duver

Duver is an old Isle of Wight word, meaning an area of land often inundated by the Sea. The St. Helens Duver sits on the Northern side of Bembridge Harbour and is an area of links land with an area of dunes where The Duver meets the Sea. Alongside The Duver is the St. Helens Esplanade with its row of brightly coloured Beach Huts . Depending on the tide height and recent rainfall the area can have large flood water areas or can be very dry, each can present interesting composition options for photographers. The area has options for sunrise and sunset shoots throughout the year.

Getting there:

From Ryde take the A3055 towards Sandown, past the roundabout with the large Tesco superstore on the road enters a wooded area, on exiting the wooded area there is a set of traffic lights. Turn left onto the B3330 Carpenters Road which takes you into the village of St. Helens. Once in the village stay on the same road by going straight on at the mini roundabout, and passing the village green. Just past the village green the road bends round sharply to the left and there is a road on your right. Turn right into this road and once past the traffic lights the road drops down hill. At the bottom of the hill turn left and there is pay and display parking on the seafront. If you are a National Trust member there is a National Trust car park on The Duver. Don’t turn left at the bottom of the hill, instead stay on the first road until you see the sign for the NT car park.

If parking in the National Trust Car Park you are on The Duver so can walk out from the car park and explore, from the Pay and Display Car Park walk south along the sea front and there are paths on the right hand side that cut through to The Duver.

What to Shoot:

The Beach Huts at the southern end of the esplanade create an obvious subject with their bright colours and it is possible to find a range of compositions in the sand dunes behind using the grasses as foreground interest and the pathways as leading lines.

There is a lovely view over The Duver from St. Helens Common which gives an elevated view across to Bembridge beyond. Either walk back along the road and up the hill or there is a footpath through the woods at the north western end of The Duver, pass over the footbridge and follow the path through the woodland. Once at St. Helens Common there are two benches at the foot of an oak tree that make a nice subject for an image with the view over The Duver to Bembridge beyond.

Returning to The Duver itself and there are various areas which flood depending on the state of the tide and the amount of rain fall. These can provide interesting compositions in conjunction with areas of grasses and trees across the area.

Finally there is the wreck of a small fishing boat washed up on the shore of Bembridge Harbour so on the southern edge of The Duver. It is probably the most photographed Boat on the Island, but does make an interesting subject for an image.

Other Options:

St. Helens Beach and Esplanade offer a range of subjects from the wooden groynes for seascapes and the rocks at the Northern end of the beach which provide nice foreground options for views towards St. Helens Fort. At very low spring tides the causeway to the fort is visible which makes a nice leading line out to the Fort.

At the southern end of the Esplanade is an area of dunes forming the entrance to Bembridge Harbour and offers a range of compositions with views across Bembridge Harbour or over to Bembridge Point. This spot can work well for Sunrise and Sunset as it has options in both directions.