Priory Woods is a 2.94 hectare

Hectare

The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...

 geological Site of Special Scientific Interest near the town of Bembridge

Bembridge

Bembridge is an affluent village and civil parish located on the easternmost point of the Isle of Wight. It had a population of 3,848 according to the 2001 census of the United Kingdom, leading to claims by residents that Bembridge is the largest village in England, and occasional claims that it is...

, Isle of Wight

Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...

, notified in 1998. It is a National Trust property and is served by a public footpath. Concealed within it is "The Priory Oyster" - an oyster bar attached to the Priory Bay

Priory Bay

Priory Bay is a small privately owned bay on the north east coast of the Isle of Wight, England. It lies to the east of the village of Nettlestone. It faces east towards Selsey Bill and its shoreline is 600m in length. It stretches from Horestone Point in the north to Nodes Point in the south.The...

Hotel and open only in the height of summer. It has significant recent archaeology with the remains of a sea wall and rusted iron railings. Numerous hand axes have been found in strata dated from 400,000 years ago, which would indicate their users were Neanderthals. The woods overlook Priory Bay and its private beach.

Source

• English Nature citation sheet for the site (accessed 17 July 2006)