Osborne Bay

In the late 16th Century, long before Osborne House was built in 1851, Osborne Bay was known as Mead Hole and pirates used to gather there to trade their ill-gotten gains. Today it’s a popular anchorage, sheltered from the west, particularly during the Round the Island Race when the fleet, heading into the shallows to dodge the tide, sails through the moored yachts.

It can be quite a rolly anchorage but it’s best not to venture too near to the shore seeking shelter. Opposite the Tea House, the large building on the beach with a central tower is known, the seabed is lined with the masonry remains of a bathing pier and a pipeline emerges along the same line 200m west of it and West Patch rocks extend out 400m into the Solent from the west end of Osborne Bay.