Isle of Wight Holiday - Day 7

The view from the top of St.Catherine's Hill, looking west towards The Needles over Brighstone Bay

St. Catherine's Oratory, known locally as "The Pepperpot", but resembling a medieval spaceship

St. Catherine's Oratory standing on St. Catherine's Hill is a tall medieval octagonal tower, allegedly a lighthouse, built here in 1328 by Walter de Godeton (sometimes spelled "Goditon") as penance for stealing church property from a wrecked ship. Affectionately known as the Pepperpot, it stands on one of the highest parts of the Isle of Wight. It is part of the Tennyson Heritage Coast, a series of linked cliff-top monuments. A later lighthouse can be seen nearby. From the top of the hill there are fabulous views to be enjoyed over the English Channel to the Cherbourg peninsula in northern France.