The Needles Old Battery

The Needles Old Battery is a Victorian coastal fort built in 1862 at the western tip of the Isle of Wight to defend against the threat of French invasion. Perched high on the chalk headland above the famous Needles rocks, the fort includes original gun barrels, a powder magazine and a 60-foot tunnel leading to a searchlight emplacement with breathtaking views. The site was later used as a Cold War rocket testing facility in the 1950s.