The Needles Old Battery

The Needles Old Battery is a Victorian fort of 1862 on the chalk headland at the western tip of the Isle of Wight, built to guard the Needles passage and Portsmouth dockyard from a French attack that never came; one of Palmerston's Follies, it served in both World Wars. Rooms show life for Victorian gunners and wartime officers, two original guns hauled up from the sea stand on the Parade Ground, and an underground tunnel twists into the cliff to a searchlight emplacement above the Needles rocks. Further up the headland, the free New Battery tells the secret story of Cold War rocket testing. Reviewers single out the spiral staircase and tunnel and the small tea-room with cake and sea views. Tips from regulars: there is no parking on site, so park at Alum Bay and walk 20 minutes uphill; Blue Badge holders can phone ahead to use the small car park by the gate. Dogs on leads are welcome.