Clock
We are currently closed

A Dinosaur Island

Velociraptor dinosaur

The Isle of Wight has a deep history of dinosaurs and is one of the richest locations in Europe for dinosaur fossils – and who doesn’t love a dinosaur story!

The Isle of Wight is one of the richest locations in Europe for dinosaur fossils, with some species only being found here. With so many discoveries revealing themselves over the years, its no surprise the Isle of Wight has been nicknamed “Dinosaur Island” and is considered the UK’s Dinosaur Capital.

Dinosaur

But how did they get here? Surely dinosaurs couldn’t swim? No they couldn’t, they walked! And no, they weren’t that tall they could touch the sea floor either. Centuries ago, the Isle of Wight was connect to the mainland and dinosaurs would have freely walked on the land that later broke away and because this beautiful island.

Dinosaur themes can be found across the island, and here at Blackgang Chine, we have some of the UK’s largest animatronic dinosaurs in our ‘Restricted Area 5’. You’ll come face to face with a ginormous Tyrannosaurus Rex and a Argentinosaurus – they’re bigger than a double decker bus!
As well as some slightly smaller Dilophosaurus’ and our still tiny baby Triceratops!

Carnotaurus Dinosaur

Here are some of our favourite Island Dino facts:

Did you know…

that the largest meat-eating dinosaur ever found in Europe, the theropod dinosaur, once stalked the Isle of Wight beaches. Bone fragments found on the south coastline of the island indicate that the giant theropod dinosaur really was a monster – over 10m long, which is bigger than a your average Tyrannosaurus Rex!

Did you know…

…the famous fossilised Iguanodon footprints at Compton Bay are about 125 million years old – that’s even older than your granny!

Did you know…

…more than 20 species of dinosaur have been found on the Isle of Wight meaning the island is a really important and unique place for discovering dinosaurs and learning more about them.

We hope you enjoy learning more about dinosaurs in Restricted Area 5, and don’t forget to pop into our exclusive Dinostore to tell our team what you’ve discovered, and find your perfect Isle of Wight dinosaur gift!

Copyright 2024 © All rights reserved. Developed by Brightbulb Design.