It has an elevation of 144 feet (44 m) and is located 2+1⁄2 miles (4 km) southwest of Newport in the centre of the Island.

[1] Public transport is provided by Southern Vectis buses on route 12.

The down is home to a listed historical site that contains a Bronze Age barrow and an Anglo-Saxon cemetery.

[3] In 1870–72 John Marius said of the village in the Imperial Gazetteer "Bowcombe vale, around it, formerly displayed much beauty, but has suffered by destruction of its wood."

In the account, it describes that to the west there are traces of a Roman road and that it "commands a rich and extensive view."