What is "sandown"

Sandown is a seaside resort town and civil parish on the southeast coast of the Isle of Wight, England, which neighbours the town of Shanklin to the south, with the village of Lake in between the two settlements. Sandown Bay is the name of the bay off the English Channel which both towns share, and it is notable for its long stretch of easily accessible golden sandy beach. It is the site of the lost Sandown Castle. Whilst undergoing construction, this was attacked by a French force which had fought its way over Culver Down from Whitecliff Bay, resulting in the French being repulsed. It was built too far into the sea and constantly suffered erosion, until now reduced to a pile of rocks. Later forts in the town include the Diamond Fort (named after its plan), built inshore to replace the castle and which fought off a minor attack from privateers (probably French) in 1788, and the present "Granite Fort" at Yaverland, which is now the zoo. Together with Shanklin, Sandown forms a built up area of 21,374 inhabitants.

The sweeping esplanade from Devonia Steps to Yaverland and the bandstand was built during the First World War, for the first time stabilising the road to Bembridge. An extension to Brown's Golf Course (and former ice cream factory) was added in 1944 to disguise pumping apparatus for the Pipe Line Under the Ocean (PLUTO) pumping oil to the D-Day beaches, which still stands next to the large Art Deco Grand Hotel.

Sandown Bay is often used as a sheltered anchorage, especially for ships requiring salvage which are periodically towed into the bay (such as the Tarpenbeck) and the wreck of a salvage tug could be seen until recently at low tide under Culver Cliff (the Harry Sharman) which had been assisting the stricken tanker Pacific Glory in the 1970s.

Sandown is a seaside resort town on the south-east coast of the Isle of Wight, England. It may also mean:

• Sandown, New Hampshire, a town in the United States
• Sandown, Gauteng, a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa
• Sandown Park Racecourse, a racecourse in Esher, Surrey
• Sandown, Kent
  • Sandown Castle, Kent in Deal, Kent
• Sandown Racecourse, a racecourse in Melbourne, Australia
• Sandown Raceway, a motor racing circuit in Melbourne, Australia
  • Sandown 500, the signature event at Sandown Raceway
• Sandown class minehunter, a class of minehunter ships of the Royal Navy