Shanklin is a real favourite of ours and amongst visitors to The Isle of Wight, it is split into three parts:

Firstly there is the main Shanklin Town which is popular for gift shops, banks, and supermarkets many of them opening until the early evening in peak season.

Then there is Shanklin Old Village which has a small road winding it's way through it passing more smaller gift shops, tea rooms, restaurants and pubs some of them thatched.  It has the famous Crab Inn which features on many fudge boxes and calendars.  {See Shanklin Old Village gallery}. 

Lastly there is Shanklin's  Esplanade and beach which contains hotels, pubs, beach shops and cafe's and some amusements, however the road to the Esplanade becomes a dead end with a small roundabout near to The Fisherman's Cottage pub and Shanklin Chine.  This is a very small and old unique pub that has the beach just a couple of yards away!

Shanklin has a great long beach ideal for families.  The lift can be caught to get up to the higher level where the town and hotels are. 

We think it has a great mixture; a quiet and picturesque part {South end}, some amusements and beach shops/cafe's {toward and including the Eastern end}, a large beach with deckchairs and benches along the long esplanade, and car parking.

< Fisherman's Cottage Pub, Shanklin Beach South end.

There are car parking spaces along the long Esplanade and there are three car parks, one near to the lift {half way}, and another on your left as soon as you reach the bottom of the steep hill down to The Esplanade. Then another on your right as you proceed along The Esplanade after 100yds, all pay and display.

The Esplanade is not in an elevated position like the other two parts of Shanklin and could easily be missed by driving along the top road for example.
Shanklin beach with Culver cliffs in the distance, around half of the beach is shown here looking towards the Eastern end.                                 >