If you’ve ever heard of the Ilse of Wight then you will have heard of “The Needles”, it’s the famous landmark that juts out into the Solent, features in the shipping forecast, and is, in these parts, known as the windiest spot. During storm Eunice in 2022, 122 mph was recorded! This day was also windy but I’d guess gusting at half that. The view above is the famous shot, usually made with a telephoto, from the car park. There is even a platform for such, so you can avoid the foreground. I therefore chose to go completely the opposite! It was also from here that in 1897 Marconi transmitted the first official radio signals to ships at sea – a monument marks the spot!
I walked out to as close as it’s possible to get to the “tip”, the Needles Old Battery. This is National Trust, and was closed. However what is less known and often overlooked (quite literally) is just “around the corner”, the “New Battery”. Here from 1955, at the height of the cold war Black Knight and Black Arrow rockets were tested in a top secret facility. More details on Wiki.
The view back to the Needles themselves I think is better from this angle. It’s with the light, and one can get a little closer. That foreground detail of the beach also makes a better landscape I think. The elevation at this point is about 470 feet.
Chatter: Canon EOS 30, Canon 40mm STM, loaded with Delta 100 (bulk loaded) and developed in home made FX21.
S.H.O.U.T. 