Start at Bembridge Harbour, a sheltered stretch of water at the island’s far eastern tip, with yachts, fishing boats and a row of houseboats, a few of them old wartime craft. Just west of the village, Bembridge Windmill dates from about 1700 and is the only windmill left on the island. It worked until 1913, J.M.W. Turner sketched there in 1795, and the National Trust opens it to visitors. Boats still run aground on the rocky Bembridge Ledges just offshore, and at Lane End a long gangway leads out over the sea to the lifeboat station, rebuilt in 2010. Volunteers open the boathouse to visitors at set times.
© Lewis Clarke / Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0
