Quay Lane, Brading

Street guide, Isle of Wight

A narrow lane running east from Brading towards what was once the quay on Brading Haven, the large tidal inlet that was progressively reclaimed from the seventeenth century. Quay Lane recalls the time when Brading was a port, with boats sailing up the haven to the town's wharf. Today the haven is farmland, drained and enclosed, but the lane preserves the memory of the waterway in its name and its alignment. The lane is quiet, largely residential, and leads through the eastern edge of the town towards the reclaimed fields. It is used by walkers heading for the marshes and the nature reserve at Brading Marshes, managed by the RSPB, which provides habitat for wetland birds on the edge of the former haven.