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 Batteries The present observation post housing a searchlight was built in 1899. Just to the east of the Old Battery, at Hatherwood Point are the remains of Hatherwood Battery, built to defend the area alongside the Needles Battery. The Old Battery is a Grade II Listed Building. A tunnel leads to a searchlight emplacement with good views towards the Needles lighthouse. Unfortunately, there were subsidence problems and concerns that the concussion from firing the guns was causing the cliffs to crumble. This was solved by building the New Battery higher up the cliff, at a height of 120 metres above sea