| Page Views: 297 Last Visit to Seaview: - I Live Here | Nostalgic Seaview by magyarozag - last update: Jun 23, 2007 |
| Gully Road. Yes it is my profile pic aswell! |
Nostalgic Seaview Seaview was one of the most popular places to "holiday" for the Victorian upper classes during the Victorian era. The pleasure beaches, the pier, the shops and pubs brought endless reams of the upper classes to Seaview. Believing that the sea air would give them good health many bought houses or built grand holiday homes. It was changed from a sleepy village to a bustling and expanding village.
But things changed, travelling abroad became more popular and in a rough storm in December 1951 the great pier was destroyed. This started the decline of popularity of Seaview. In the 1970's to the present day it is slowly becoming more popular, tearooms have been opened, a Thai restaurant has too, a Sports club has been built, the Seaview Hotel has expanded and become a great sucess (with locals and tourists) and the Seaview Regatta still runs with many boats participating and a fireworks display in August. One thing that hasn't really changed are the Victoriana buildings a conservatory might have been built but they still hold their Nostalgic charm. Seaview is a great place with its beaches and greens and is a lovely place to live, great for travellers and tourists as it has all ammenities expected and more. I'm am proud to be a Caulkhead (a person born on theIsle of Wight) and even more proud to live in Seaview. I enjoy it so much, why shouldn't you. |
The Beaches of Seaview Seaview is blessed with glorious shingle or sandy beahes which catch alot of the summer sun and winter breezes. Down from the High Street there is no beach you have to travel to either side by quarter of a mile or so. If you go West and follow the road, you will arrive at Puckpool. A magnificent beach which has enjoyed it's own part in history. At the time of the Napoleonic wars a fort was built to protect the Solent and Portsmouth. It was never really needed and was changed recently into a cafe, golfcourse and wireless museum (the latter closed in 2006), and recently the beach was filled with people who had come to see the Queens fleet reveiw even if the ships looked the size of a matchbox. Also a dead whale was washed up on the shore but was quickly disposed of before the smell became too much. The beaches are mainly shingle and are very popular in the summer. Beach huts at the front of the fort are usually occupied and people sit out with a barbeque and watch the sea and the ships which go in and come out of Portsmouth and Southampton Harbour. The tide is usually out far enough that alot of the beach is exposed and thus used by children to play, make sandcastles or just paddle in the sea.
If however you go East there are two beaches. The first you come to will be Springvale which is home to the Springvale Hotel (which is actually West of Seaview) and the place where the Pier used to stand. This is mainly shingle but as it reaches the Pier foundations it becomes sandy even if there is seaweed that covers some of it. This is also very popular with children and sunbathers. If you continue East you will find the beach narrows and you will need to take the small wooden bridge over to a platform which if the tide is out you can go that way round or if not take the steps over through the woods until you get to Priory bay. This is all sand and it is extremerly beautiful, this is less popular as not many people know about it and other families just stay behind at Springvale. Priory beach in winter is a resting place for alot of driftwood which locals collect for firewood or even artwork (myself not included). In the summer it is resting place for seagulls who come back from migration and from the town. All year round though it is often a place where dogwalkers will come. The driftwood creates a great stick for fetch, the sea to play or wash off in and the stretch of beach for running and playing.
The Priory beach is very long, at one end are sandyrocks which create a screen from the village and at the other is an old crumbling sea wall and what I think is the ruin of a small building. If you come in Regatta week the sea will have receeded far enough that you could carry on walking round to get as far as Bembridge but that is another story.
So really you can't come to Seaview without visiting it's beaches. |
Why go to the beaches? Why not, these picture shows Priory bay in May and there is not another single person there, you have to wait till August till all the people from the hotel come out to play. |
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