Horseshoe Bay is a small bay below the village of Bonchurch. There is no beach, and the tide is usually up against the sea wall with crashing waves during stormy weather. But a small amount of sand and shingle is exposed during a low tide.
It's not really a swimmer's beach, but it's lovely to walk here. The wide, flat, concrete esplanade (revetment) runs from Monks Bay in the east at Bonchurch, westwards to Ventnor Bay. The flat, level surface makes it ideal for wheelchair users and parents with kids pushchairs.
Further west along the revetment, at Wheelers Bay, is a very popular open air cafe known as The Seapot, which is open every day from Easter to October.
You can park at the Shore Road carpark. At the bottom of Shore Road is Bonchurch Pottery, which is well worth a visit. The pottery is where Stokey's Solar Walk begins - see separate listing.
In the early 1990s, the old sea defences along this stretch were improved at a cost of £1.6 million, to protect the cliff from erosion. The beach was replaced with 15,500 tonnes of large rocks and 23,000 tonnes of chalk fill-material.
DOGS ALLOWED: Yes, all year round
TOILETS: A short distance east at Monks Bay
AMENITIES: The Seapot cafe is a short walk
LIFEGUARDS: No
ACCESS ON FOOT: It's a flat walk along the concrete revetment from Ventnor to Bonchurch.
ACCESS BY CAR: Shore Road carpark is very close, although it's quite a steep walk down to the revetment.
AS WITH ALL BAYS ON THE SOUTH OF THE WIGHT, CARE MUST BE TAKEN DUE TO UNSTABLE CLIFFS. LANDSLIPS ARE NOT UNCOMMON IN THIS AREA.
