Blackgang Chine

Blackgang Chine is an amusement park on the southern coast of the Isle of Wight. It sits on unstable cliffs above Chale Bay, where a steep ravine once cut down to the shore. The park opened in 1843 and is Britain’s oldest amusement park. It spreads across more than forty acres of cliff-top gardens and themed areas. Landslides and coastal erosion have reshaped the land over the years. Many attractions have been moved inland to safer ground as the cliffs crumble. The park’s history begins with Alexander Dabell, who saw holiday potential in the area. In 1839 he befriended a publican who had built a hotel at Blackgang, now the Chine Cafe. Dabell leased the site, landscaped gardens, and built paths down to the ravine. A fin whale skeleton, washed ashore in 1842, still greets visitors today. The park has remained a family business for over 180 years. Today the park offers themed lands like Pirate Cove, Restricted Area 5, Fairy Land, and Cowboy Town. Lifesize animatronic dinosaurs move and roar in Restricted Area 5. A giant fibreglass smuggler statue marks the entrance. Clifftop walks give wide views of the English Channel and the island’s south-west coast. Exhibits tell the story of the cliffs’ erosion and the landslides that shaped the land.