THE SAND MAN AT WORK

The traditional souvenirs sold at Alum Bay are clear glass or plastic bottles in various shapes, which visitors fill with coloured sand from the bay. 

In Victorian times, and even late into the 20th Century, people clambered over the cliffs to gather their coloured sands themselves, but due to erosion (not to mention Health and Safety!) this is no longer allowed — now you fill your bottles with coloured sands responsibly collected from cliff-falls and laid out in the souvenir shop.

Wilson chose a hollow map of the Isle of Wight which, by coincidence, is exactly the same as the one I bought when I first visited the Isle of Wight at about Wilson's age!