The 1588 Armada trail

The 1588 Armada Trail has been created in collaboration with David Baldwin and Ventnor Town Council to mark the on-shore route of the Spanish Armadas attempted invasion of the Isle of Wight in 1588.

The 4.2 mile route follows the coastal path along the southeastern tip of our island from St Lawrence towards Ventnor and Bonchurch. The trail features heritage boards giving further information at strategic locations.

A glimpse into the past

Along the route you will see churches, cliffs, coastline and views that are similar if not the same as they were when the Battle of Dunnose took place over 18 miles of the English Channel between the British Fleet and over 100 vessels of the Spanish Armada.

The heritage boards display bespoke literature and interactive links which deliver a plethora of detail regarding locations along the Coastal and Downs Trails. These accounts come from charts and playwrights, and tell the stories of ships, spies, marine archaeology and local heroes.

The Battle of Dunnose

On the morning of 25 July 1588, over 130 Spanish ships were spotted off the coast of Chale as they sailed up the English Channel with the intention of making landfall along the south coast of the Isle of Wight. Thanks to the network of beacons and the ringing of church bells on our island and the rest of the south coast, news of the incoming fleet reached Portsmouth and London in time for a retaliatory fleet of English ships to be dispatched. 

The encounter lasted 10 hours, from when the ships were first spied at 5am until they disappeared past Selsey Bill in Chichester at 3pm. The main skirmish took place between 5am - 10am starting off the coast of Niton and spanning 6 leagues (18 miles) up towards Culver, coming to a head off an area between Bonchurch and Luccombe known as Dunnose.

The Spanish originally intended to determine whether they could put land ashore or shelter within havens around the Isle of Wight, but thanks to a covert operation, they were spied leaving Lisbon on 25 May. Word reached Queen Elizabeth I by 5 July, that the Spanish were on their way and the English fleet was mobilised around our island to stop the invasion. 

1588 Armada trail leaflet

1588 Armada trail map

About the author

After taking an introductory class on the Spanish Armada at the City of London School in 1970, David Baldwin, began researching how the Isle of Wight played a part in defending Britain. He discovered that previous historians had misinterpreted a letter by George Carey, Captain & Governor of the Isle of Wight, and worked with Ventnor Town Council to plot the route of this previously understudied battle.