Steephill Cove

Steephill Cove is a small bay to the West of Ventnor. It is a small sandy beach with a collection of houses and huts behind a small promenade that runs around the bay. In Summer its a popular beach with visitors and its small collection of cafes are always busy. There are fishing boats and a collection of leisure boats on the slipway and around the bay. In Winter the bay has a more remote and wild feel and the sea can be quite wild. The location works well for both Sunrise and Sunset throughout the year. It is not the easiest location to access and requires a walk which is steep in places, and can definitely feel even steeper on the return leg.

Getting there:

Steephill Cove does take a bit of getting too, but it is worth it when you get there.

From Newport follow signs for Sandown initially and take the A3020 towards Sandown. At Blackwater Junction turn right and continue to follow the A3020 towards Shanklin. This will take you through Rookley and Godshill before passing through Sandford. Once through Sandford you reach a mini roundabout at Whiteley Bank. Take the Third Exit towards Ventnor and pass through Wroxall before arriving into Ventnor.

Ventnor is a bit of a maze, but shortly after arriving in the town there is a turning on the right signposted Blackgang & Freshwater. Turn right here and follow the road. After a short while there is a sharp Left Hand Hairpin bend, follow the road round the bend ignoring the turning on the right to Blackgang and Freshwater. After the Hairpin bend the road continues down hill and then arrives at a set of traffic lights.

Turn right at the Traffic lights towards St. Lawrence. (the turning is a bit past the initial traffic lights but is all part of the same junction complex). After turning right follow the road down hill and you will arrive at a T Junction. Turn left and there is on road parking available shortly after turning left. Once parked walk back towards the junction and go past this towards Ventnor Botanical Gardens. Shortly after the junction on your left hand side is a wide footpath with a barrier across and a sign advising no vehicular access. Take this path which drops steeply down to an open park area. Continue to follow the path which climbs again before turning right and dropping sharply down towards the sea. Once reaching sea level the path continues to the right and after a short walk you reach Steephill Cove.

What to Shoot:

The cove and the buildings that line the cove are the stars of the show here. From the western end of the cove there are views back along the cove with the Lighthouse Cottage providing a main subject. This works well at sunrise. In addition the sea defences can be used as interesting foreground and leading lines.

The beach itself has a gentle slope meaning waves will break and recede slowly making for interesting wave trails. There are numerous rocks that appear at different states of the tide that can be added as foreground interest.

For sunset the view from the eastern end with the headlands of the Southern Coast disappearing into the distance works well. Again there are rocks and features on both the beach and the promenade that can be used for foreground.

In the Summer the Promenade area itself is full of interest with small boats on the slipway and piles of lobster pots and marker posts that can create engaging images.

Beyond the main slipway the beach area is rockier and this can be a good spot for seascape shots with the rocks on the shore as a subject. There is interest in this area at all states of the tide.

Other Options:

Walking back towards Ventnor there is a nice view of the town from Castle Cove. This can work well with a telephoto lens with the sun or moon rising over the Downs behind the town.

From Steephill Cove there is a public footpath that climbs through the houses and joins the cliff top path that runs west behind the Ventnor Botanical Gardens (itself full of interesting photo spots) to numerous small coves and bays along the coast, Orchard Bay and Monks Bay are the next two which both providing for interesting options.