Pictures taken by  
Howard Oakley
Image 1
  • A few of the more than 1500 competitors in the Round the Island yacht race, struggling in very light airs to exit Hurst Narrows and cross Alum Bay to the Needles
Image 2
  • Over Alum Bay looking to the north and Hurst Castle, the western outlet of the Solent
Image 3
  • Coloured sands in the cliffs above Alum Bay
Image 4
  • The Needles Lighthouse, seen from the viewpoint near the Needles Old Battery
Image 5
  • The Needles seen from the viewpoint near the Needles Old Battery
Image 6
  • The Needles and Scratchell's Bay, viewed from the viewpoint near the Needles Old Battery
Image 7
  • The Needles seen from Scratchell's Bay, having kayaked from Freshwater Bay
Image 8
  • Chalk cliff overhanging the pebble beach at Scratchell's Bay
Around the Needles
Some of more than 1500 yachts competing in the Round the Island Race make their way past Alum Bay, with its famous coloured sand cliffs, to the Needles lighthouse, the Island's most westerly point. Just behind the Needles is the isolated pebble beach of Scratchell's Bay, accessible only by sea and overhung by a massive chalk shield.