Why is Sandown so unique? For a town that so often makes the headlines for all the wrong reasons, we asked our community a different question: What makes Sandown a part of you?
“Sandown may be a small town on a small island, but I can tell you first hand that the smallest towns often produce the biggest dreams.”
“Since moving to Sandown, I have been involved with the Green Town Volunteers, gardening, litter picking, and, of course, participating in the carnival.”
“When I was about ten or eleven years old, back in 1962, my dad, mum, and younger sister went on holiday to the Isle of Wight from Hackney.”
“All seasons, all weather. That pink neon sign at the end of Sandown Pier welcomes me in: ‘A Whole Day’s Fun In One!’ I’ve got a pocketful of change. I’m here for the 2p action.”
“Every year at the Sandown Regatta, someone wears a giant hat shaped like an upturned 99 ice cream.”
“Looking back, I’ve lived so many different lives in this one place: disco-dancer, Wren, chambermaid, wife, mum, and friend.”
“I had never taken part in the Sandown Grand Hat Parade before, and subtlety wasn’t really on the agenda.”
“Sandown’s decline is just a metamorphosis, a change into bright new clothes for bold new Town of Culture times.”
“Sandown is a half-seen story that has all the ingredients of a great read, but with pages missing.”
“Always capable of more, for too long the town has settled for less. Now’s the time to grasp chances for change.”
“We knew Sandown was where we wanted to be. As a town, it’s a perfect fit for artists, with all the natural, hidden, tired and ugly beauty to find.”
“I saw the decay but also the grit and determination of its people, the community spirit and the urge to change.”
“Sandown has always been a place of change, but I’ve never lost the wonder I felt first seeing the Bay.”
“For decades, I watched from the sidelines as Sandown suffered – now, I see the tide turning for our town.”
“Sandown is not only the ecological hub for the Island – it is pioneering nature recovery strategies that simultaneously support democracy and uplift communities.”
“Working to help protect the coastline and communities from coastal erosion and flooding gives me the opportunity to contribute to an area that means so much to so many people.”
“I love thinking about the future generations of Sandownians using the incredible trees we planted”
“Let me share a place with you where the sea wains from grey to blue. Where the chalk cliffs are mesmerising and the salt air is energising.”
“I absolutely love living here, and I feel incredibly lucky to have our beautiful bay right on the doorstep. The beach and the sea are the best therapy.”
“Sandown has always punched above its weight creatively. Give it this stage and watch what the next generation does with it.”
“My work focuses on the island’s marine life and habitats, visualising and bringing our seas into the local community using social media, rockpool safaris, school programmes and public events.”
“From the shifting chalk cliffs of Culver to the rare species living on the downs behind them, we are restoring nationally important nature right on Sandown’s doorstep.”
“Once you create a ripple somebody else joins in and the ripples become bigger.”
“You come out of that water and you just feel uplifted and you just feel amazing.”
“I travel a lot but you can’t beat this beach.”
“I think it’s really important that people get the opportunity to try at least try a new business idea.”
“With investment brings prosperity. Without it, you stand still.”
“My mom and dad realised their dream here.”
Rhian with her band Wet Leg — photo © Alice Backham 2025
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