Blackgang Chine

Blackgang Chine

Blackgang Chine Blackgang Chine (Isle of Wight)
Location	Blackgang, Isle of Wight, England, United Kingdom
Coordinates	50.58889°N, 1.31444°W
Owner	Alexander Dabell/Vectis Ventures Ltd./ The Dabell Family
General Manager	Dan Selle
Opened	May 1843
Operating season	March to November
Rides
Total	3
Roller coasters	1
Water rides	1
Website	Blackgangchine.com

Blackgang Chine is the UK's oldest amusement park. Named after a now-destroyed chine (a coastal ravine) in the soft Cretaceous cliffs, it is about 6 miles from Ventnor at the southern tip of the Isle of Wight just below St Catherine's Down. The park is owned by the Dabell family. Blackgang Chine has a sister park named Robin Hill. Blackgang Chine is home to life-sized Pirate Ships, Fairy Villages and Castles, Dodo Valleys, and the original Cowboy Town. Owing to the unstable land on which the park is situated, landslides occur frequently, meaning that attractions have continually to be moved further inland to safer ground.

During Blackgang Chine's early years, the area was a steep gaunt ravine, overlooking Chale Bay, stretching around 3/4 of a mile down to the shore. It was a quiet place, visited by few people other than local fishermen with rumours of a thriving smuggling trade, which has now become a key theme of the park. On 11 October 1836 the cargo ship Clarendon was wrecked at the foot of Blackgang Chine, with the loss of all aboard.

During Victorian England, people were seeking out new healthy holiday resorts, ideally near the coast. As the railway network was getting closer and closer to the South Coast, the Isle of Wight was becoming an increasingly attractive holiday destination. Alexander Dabell, the founder of the park, soon realised the business potential of this, trying various ventures. In 1839 Alexander became friends with a publican who had recently built a hotel at Blackgang, which now forms the Pirates' Pantry restaurant and administration offices. The park's establishment in 1843 allegedly makes it the oldest theme park in the UK. Its initial theme of a general-purpose scenic and curiosity park led to one of its most famous attractions, a large whale skeleton, which had been washed up near the coast of The Needles in 1842, and is still a showpiece today.