The Needles vehicles transporting disabled visitors. This is because the single track road's position close to the cliff edge is considered dangerous for multiple car use. The Isle of Wight Coast Path has its westernmost point at the Coastguard Cottages. The Needles' pointed shape is a result of their unusual geology. The strata have been so heavily folded during the Alpine Orogeny that the chalk is near vertical. This chalk outcrop runs through the centre of the Island from Culver Cliff in the east to the Needles in the west, and then continues under the sea to the Isle of Purbeck, forming
The Needles The battery site becomes dangerous in high winds and is closed to the public in winds above force 8. In the spring and summer, the Southern Vectis bus company sends open-top buses along a route called "The Needles Tour". This route approaches the Battery along the cliff edge, using a road reserved for bus traffic. The Needles Tour also has stops in Alum Bay, Totland, Colwell Bay, Fort Victoria, Yarmouth, and Freshwater Bay. The Needles Tour buses are the only vehicles allowed on the road from Alum Bay, apart from those owned by National Trust staff or, by prior appointment,