Newtown River
At a Glance
Newtown Creek and its associated branches form a peaceful haven for nature, and a useful anchorage for yachtsmen and motorboaters.
It is probably one of the most natural and unsullied anchorages
in the whole of the Solent area. The estuary is now owned by the
National Trust, who maintain a number of visitors moorings...
It is best visited off-season or mid-week, as at busy periods the
place really fills up, and the whole reason for going there is
somewhat spoiled by close proximity and anchoring antics of the
irritating kind. There is not an awful lot of room to swing.
This is not the place for provisioning, watering up or having a
wild night out ashore. There is a small boatyard with some drying
moorings for small shoal draft craft at Shalfleet. A dinghy mission
from the moorings/anchorage a couple of hours either side of high
water will get you there and then an equally determined hike will
bring you to the tiny one shop/one pub village.
Anchorage is free, although you may be expected to cough up a
donation to the National Trust. Mooring buoys are chargeable.
Off-season you're unlikely to be bothered by anyone.
This drone video gives a good idea of what to expect during the
summer season
Newtown River
Approach
Newtown River is approached via a narrow channel leading through shingle banks. Entry for most boats is only possible with a suitable rise of tide, but once within deeper water will be found.
Pilotage details now follow:
From the West locate and identify the green
conical Hampstead Ledge Buoy (Fl (2).G.2s), and from the East
keeping a good distance off, locate the westerly cardinal fairway
buoy (Q.(9)15s).
Quite often the best clue from a distance is sighting the
masts of the boats at anchor inside. The spit forming Spithouse
Point is very low lying. In either case approach the westerly
cardinal buoy on a southerly or south-easterly heading. This is the
only lit navigational mark, so a night entry although not
impossible would need a great deal of care on a rising
tide.
The tidal patterns are worthy of a mention,
with a stand of around two hours at HW, preceded by seven hours of
flood tide. This makes the three or four hour ebbtide particularly
strong, especially in the narrow entrance. The HM here advises the
use of the Yarmouth tide tables here as they are virtually the
same.
The channel leading in has water at all states of the tide (about
1.5m at LWS) but is narrow and steep sided, so deep keeled craft
are advised that it's best to enter on a rising tide. The
tide can run hard through the narrow but deep entrance.
Leave the west cardinal buoy marking the entrance channel to port
and make your entry on a course of about 130°. You should pick up
the leading marks easily. The forward Mark consists of a red &
white striped post with a Y shaped top mark (like the rearsight on
a rifle), and the rear post which is higher and mounted on dry land
has a white circle. Keep these two dead in line and approach. There
used to be a green buoy opposite the forward leading mark but this
has been removed so there is no indication of the extent of the
western side of the channel. In the closer approach to the Y shaped
mark, the entrance will be in clear view and it is then necessary
to come off the transit, make a slight swing to starboard and head
straight towards the entrance. Be aware that the front leading mark
is laid in shallow water and should be given about 40yds offing.
The red post in the entrance on the Admiralty Chart is being
removed (Spring 2014) and the deepest water continues in a straight
line. Ahead, on the starboard bow, lie two green conical buoys (one
with a top mark) and, on the port bow, a BRB bad ground mark
(This post has been replaced by a Red/Black striped buoy with
two ball top mark but no lights) and green conical buoy. A
choice now needs to be made about mooring and anchoring; if going
up Newtown Creek swing to starboard and leave the two SHMs to
starboard and the bad ground mark to port; if going up Clamerkin
Lake, round the bad ground mark to port and pass between it and its
accompanying SHM (buoy with conical top mark).
Most of the above IALA lateral marks have now been replaced with small Buoys
£ GMT
Waypoint
Charts
Rules & Regs
Hazards
Tides
Berthing
Options are either to find a vacant visitors mooring buoy, or to anchor.
Space is tight, there are large drying areas, and if
you're looking for a quiet time it is best to avoid summer
weekends. Newtown Creek is best savoured
off-season. The options are now explored:
There are 15 mooring buoys laid in the Newtown River (the branch
that leads to Shalfleet Quay) and 5 in Clammerkin Lake, to port as
you enter. These white moorings are for visitors, and if you use
one of them, the charges (2020) about £25.00 for boats up to 11m
per night and £13.50 for a short stay. There is sufficient room
between the buoys in Clammerkin Lake to lay an anchor but not in
the Newtown River where they are laid on a ground chain.
Space is tight for anchoring, remember most of this dries out at
low water, and Clammerkin Lake is really the only place where there
is room. When you enter, take note of the BRB buoy on your port
side as you follow the deep water down ( marked on the starboard
hand side by a green buoy and a green post with conical top marks).
If you need to go Clammerkin Lake to anchor the safest bet is to
make your turn to port immediately after passing the BRB buoy. At
high water it may look tempting to commence your turn earlier, but
the deepest water is as described. The buoys are well maintained
but can be a bit confusing for a first-time visitor, and as always
in these circumstances it is best to arrive on a rising tide with a
careful eye kept on the depth sounder.
Finding room to swing in Clammerkin Lake is not always easy either,
the danger being that as the tide turns you can swing onto the mud.
Following this channel round a bit more you'll come to
oyster beds with boards advising "Anchorage Limit". By this time
the Creek is narrowing substantially (although at high water it
really does look like a lake), with only a narrow gutway remaining
with about 1 m at LWS. The holding ground is good being mud.
During busy periods when the anchorage is crowded (especially in
wind against tide situations) be prepared for anchoring
antics.
Probably the most seaman like way of anchoring in these narrow
channels would be the Bahamian Moor, with one anchor uptide and one
anchor downtide..... unfortunately you can practically guarantee
even if you buoy the anchors that there will be others who do not
understand what you are doing and who's larger swinging
circles will interfere with you. Nevertheless anything you can do
to keep your swinging circle small will help. With the holding
being so good it is not necessary to pay out fathoms and fathoms of
chain.
During peak periods the most irritating thing is that just as
you're settled down, happy with your swinging circle and
your holding..... someone will come anchor right on top of
you.
As mentioned before, Newtown is best enjoyed away from busy
periods.
Marinas and Mooring
Facilities
Not a lot... water is available from a tap at the end of the
footbridge adjoining Newtown Quay.... make a dinghy landing around
three hours either side of high water by the hut. A short walk
inland from here will reveal the village of Newtown, which
boasts...... nothing !! No pub and no stores. Marvel at the fact
that this town once possessed two MPs, and was of more commercial
importance than Newport (check the history section).
Following the main branch of the Newtown River (in the dinghy) will
bring you to Shalfleet Quay, with its little boatyard and slipway.
From here you can walk to Shalfleet Village, as described in the
opening section. Southern Vectis buses stop outside the New Inn
(which in fact looks remarkably old), for transport to Newport
eastwards, or Yarmouth westwards.
What to Do
The New Inn just mentioned is the only place
that can be reached (with a bit of a dingy mission and a hike
ashore). It has won awards for the Isle of Wight Dining Pub of the
Year, carries real ales and specialises in seafood. The big open
log fire can in some circumstances create as much of a fug as a
table full of chain smokers, but it's authentic as are the
flag stone floors. Well worth a visit if safely tied up on a
mooring buoy. It closed in 2018 and has since been re-opened by
the owners who were the award winning team of earlier
years.
History
Newtown is a small hamlet on the Isle of Wight, in
England.
Newtown is located on the large natural harbour on the
island's north-western coast, now mostly a National Nature
Reserve owned and managed by the National Trust.
The Caul Bourne stream running through Calbourne passes through
Newbridge and Shalfleet and empties into the Solent at
Newtown.
History
The town was originally called Francheville (i.e., Freetown), and
only later was it renamed Newtown. It probably was founded before
the Norman Conquest. There is some indication that it was attacked
by the Danes in 1001.
The earliest charter that we know of was granted by the
Bishop-elect of Winchester, Aymer de Valence. He signed its charter
at his ecclestical estate at Swainston Manor in 1256. The high
hopes for its success are reflected in the names of its streets,
such as Gold Street and Silver Street. However, it might have
suffered from competition from Yarmouth, Newport and Southampton.
In 1284 the village was somewhat reluctantly given to Edward I.
Apparently there were some 60 families living in Newtown at the
start of the 1300s.
By the mid 1300s, it was slowly starting to mature into a thriving
commercial center. In 1344, it was assessed at twice the value of
Newport. Its harbor was busy and reputed to be the safest on the
island. There was a prosperous saltworks and Newtown was famous for
its abundant oyster beds. There was an annual three day festival on
the "eve, the day and the morrow of the Feast of St. Mary
Magdalen", who was honored in the name of the local
thirteenth-century chapel. Then the plague struck, and a French
raid in 1377 destroyed much of the town as well as other Island
settlements. It has never fully recovered from this blow.
By the middle of the sixteenth century it was a small settlement
long eclipsed by the more easily defended town of Newport. A survey
in 1559 noted that Newtown no longer had a market and it did not
have a single good house still standing. Its harbor slowly became
clogged with silt so that it was not accessible to larger
vessels.
Elizabeth I breathed some life into the town in 1584 by awarding it
two parliamentary seats. A town hall was built in the 17th century.
However, these two parliamentary seats ultimately made Newtown one
of the most notorious of the rotten boroughs, prevalent in the UK
before reforms in the 1800s. By the time of the Reform Act 1832
that abolished the seats, a survey pointed out that Newtown had
just fourteen houses and twenty-three voters. Much larger municipal
areas with many more voters had less representation.
The town hall was restored in 1813, and again in the 1930s. It is
now open to the public.
The Newtown Arms Inn was closed in 1916. It was in an unusually
shaped building locally referred to as "Noah's Ark."
Newtown has stayed small, but this has led to the preservation of
the original layout of the village, to the interests of historians.
There are also two square ponds by the boathouse which were dug as
salterns, as part of a salt industry that used to exist in
Newtown.
The text on this HISTORY page is covered by the following
licence
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License
Tide Information for newtown
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