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Discover Shanklin, Isle of Wight

Well-preserved houses (The Old Thatch Tearoom, Pencil Cottage and The Crab Public House) in Shanklin, Isle of Wight, EnglandWell-preserved houses (The Old Thatch Tearoom, Pencil Cottage and The Crab Public House) in Shanklin, Isle of Wight, England: Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_moment_to_treasure_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1432219.jpg
Author: John Webber
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Shanklin is a town and seaside resort on the east coast of the Isle of Wight, England. The town, which has a population of 8,500 people (2012 estimate), has an esplanade where most of the hotels and restaurants are concentrated.

The main shopping area in Shanklin is on Regent Street and High Street. This is where you find most of the shops catering to both tourists and residents. The town has two main supermarkets, the Co-op and the Lidl. It has a theater, the Shanklin Theatre, at the top end of the High Street.

Shanklin was named after Shanklin Chine, a wooded coastal ravine where there are waterfalls and lush vegetation. The area has been documented as early as 1086, when it appeared in the Domesday Book as Chynklyng Chine.

The town of Shanklin goes down in history through its association with Charles Darwin, who wrote the Origin of Species during an 18-month-long visit here.

Perhaps the most charming part of Shanklin is the row comprising The Old Thatch Tearoom, Pencil Cottage and The Crab Public House. These lovely cottages seem to spring right out of a fairy tale book.

Eastcliff Road, ShanklinEastcliff Road, Shanklin: Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eastcliff_Road,_Shanklin,_Isle_of_Wight_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1708768.jpg
Author: Christine Matthews
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Visiting Shanklin

You can reach Shanklin by taking the A3055 road from Ryde.

Places of Interest in Shanklin


  1. America Wood: Site of Special Scientific Interest, located between Shanklin and Whiteley Bank.

  2. Church of St Saviour-on-the-Cliff, Shanklin: Biggest church building in Shanklin. Built between 1869 and 1905, it is today a Grade II listed building.

  3. Shanklin Chine: Wooded ravine that has become a major tourist attraction of the town.

  4. St Blasius Church, Shanklin: Anglican parish church dating to 1717 but largely rebuilt in 1859.

  5. St Paul's Church: Anglican parish church on Regent Street, Gatten, Shanklin, built in 1880-90.

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Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.

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