| NITON | ||
| The village of Niton with
its sloping streets is in the centre of the best down scenery on the
Island and sheltered by St Catherine's Hill, it is split into two halves
by a break in the inner cliff large enough to house the main road
through the village. Upper Niton is in a hollow by a crossroads and here
is the church a shop and the pub, it still retains a lot of its village
charm due to the fact that not much development has gone on here over
the years. The church built by William FitzOsborn was given to an abbey in Normandy until Victorian times when it was restore and rebuilt and Manor Farm is adjoining the churchyard with its lovely stone farmhouse. Lower Niton was a small fishing hamlet until the 19th century and it flourished mainly because of the health resort of Ventnor and a lot of mansions and holiday cottages were erected here. At the Undercliff is the island most favourite pub, the Buddle Inn which has a stream running through its grounds and a lovely view out to sea and opposite are some steps that lead down to Castle Cove and it stories of smuggling and haunting. You can walk down to St Catherines point and the lighthouse via a lane a bit further along to the west.
On the wall of the Norman church is a portrait by Flaxman which depicts a strange scene, it is a woman holding pelicans i her hand, the mother bird is shown feeding its young. If you look up to the downs the mediaeval lighthouse can be seen. St Catherine's is the most southerly point on the Island so the village of Niton albeit small has a lot to offer including the occasional thatched cottage and its many lovely walks through some stunning scenery.
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