Help us achieve cleaner seas and beaches

MCS now recommends twice as many
beaches for excellent water quality than 10 years ago. To continue we need your help...

Compton Bay

Photograph: John Firth

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

Totland, Isle of Wight

send postcard to a friend save to favourites

Lat/Long

50.7N 1.5W

MCS Recommended

Water quality

During the summer water samples are taken at popular UK bathing beaches and tested for bacteria which could
indicate the presence of pollution from sewage and/or animal waste. At the end of the bathing season these results
are then used to assign one of the following four grades to each beach:

‘Mandatory’ is the legal minimum standard which sets limits for the number of total coliforms and faecal
coliforms present in the sea water. Beaches which do not meet this standard are classified as ‘Fail’.

‘Guideline’ is a tighter UK standard which sets lower limits for total coliforms and faecal coliforms, and also
a limit for faecal streptococci.

‘MCS Recommended’ is our gold standard for excellent water quality. To achieve this beaches must meet
the Guideline standard, with the inclusion of any samples taken during wet weather which may have been legally
removed from government assessments by means of the ‘abnormal weather waiver’. Any local continuous sewage
discharges must be appropriately treated to remove the majority of bacteria and viruses using, as a minimum,
secondary treatment.

All of the results on our website are for samples taken during summer 2011.

Wet weather can lead to poor water quality – stay out of the sea for at least 48 hours after a storm to avoid
exposure to storm pollution.

See our ‘Clean Seas Matter’ page to find out more about water quality standards.

Guideline View latest and historic water quality results for this beach.

European designated bathing water

Every summer, water quality is assessed at popular UK beaches which have been designated as bathing waters
under the European Bathing Water Directive (76/160/EEC). Water samples are also sometimes taken on beaches
which are not officially designated as bathing waters. At these beaches the regular sampling of the water is not
a legal requirement, but is instead carried out on a voluntary basis by the beach owner or local authority.

Lifeguarded

No lifeguard service

A two mile stretch of sand and rocky shore and is one of the most unspoilt beaches on the Isle of Wight. The south west coast of the island is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), a Heritage Coast and an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Beach type

Sand

Local facilities

Toilets, campsite

Litter

Beach cleaned daily during the summer

Parking

The car parks are pay and display during the summer.

Things to do

Swimming. surfing and sea canoeing take place from the beach. It provides excellent rock pooling.

Wildlife & walks

There are a range of lovely coastal walks to the nearby downland owned by the National Trust. The coastal footpath is closed from Hanover Point to Freshwater Bay.