Ventnor the hotspot for people plants and lizards

Tuesday 13th July 2010

Ventnor Bay is one of the Island’s gems tucked away on the sheltered South East Coast.

Many walkers on arrival in the town could easily be mistaken into thinking they have arrived in a Mediterranean town. With its steep twisting streets cut into the hillside there is also a feeling of being on Madeira.

The mild climate enables many exotic sub tropical plants to thrive which can be seen in front gardens and the Botanical gardens which the Coastal path route passes is well worth a visit.
When you travel through the town it is worth noticing the Victorian Italianate villas built in the mid 19th century when Ventnor became fashionable with Wealthy Victorians.

Ventnor has a warm microclimate and is protected from high winds and rarely has frosts and the rocky landscape is an ideal habitat for Ventnor’s most famous residents the rare Wall Lizards Podarcis Muralis.

On a sunny day look out for them basking on walls and rockeries. The females are brown and the males have bright green or yellow speckled colouring. They look like lizards that you see in Italy.
These reptiles are either a natural colony at the extreme of their range or more likely an introduced species there is some evidence to indicate that a Doctor Martin released a number during the middle of the 19th century. However they arrived on the Island they are thriving and an interesting addition to the Island’s ecosystem.

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