The walk round Langstone Harbour is about thirteen miles and takes in a ferry ride.  If you are going right round its probably best to leave your car one side of the ferry across the harbour mouth, take the ferry and walk back to your car.  It can be done in about four hours but you might prefer to enjoy the walk.  Of course it is possible to do the walks in parts but unless you want to do an out and back walk you will need to make arrangements for transport back to your start.

In the following notes I will indicate possible starting points, where public transport is readily accessible, possible refreshment stops and key in links to information on wildlife and places of interest.

Notes : underlined words are hyper linked to features elsewhere on this or even another web.  Coloured blocked in squares - hover buttons - can be clicked to go to wildlife information (Red buttons) or features of interest (yellow).

Possible refreshment stops will be lime green highlighted.

The Ferry

Summer. Ferries depart from Hayling at 20 and 50 minutes past each hour (Except during peak periods when it runs every 20 minutes) and the last ferry is at 2150.  Ferries from Eastney depart at 00 and 30 minutes part each hour and the last ferry is at 2200.

Winter. Ferries depart from Hayling at 50 minutes past each hour (Except during peak periods when it runs every 20 minutes) and the last ferry is at 1950.  Ferries from Eastney depart on the hour and the last ferry is at 2000.

The above information was checked 4/3/2005.  For up to date information you can phone 023 9248 2868

Busses

Emsworth & District Service 33 runs every 30 minutes from Mengham or Beachlands to the Ferry in the summer.  All through the year Stagecoach Service 30/31 runs from Havant to the Hayling Island West Town Theatre which is on the walk route and about fifteen minutes from the Ferry.
On the Portsmouth side First Provincial service 16 connects the Ferry to the town centre.

At appropriate points in the description of the walk Bus connections will be shown with red highlighting./

From Eastney to Milton Lock

You have no choice here but to follow the road south from the ferry landing stage with Eastney lake on your right.  After about ½ a mile and passing Eastney Marina you can work you way through a new estate to the shore.  If the tide is not too high its then possible to follow the shore of Eastney lake, taking to the beach in places.  [There are proposals to make a better path around Eastney lake.]  On the North side of the Lake you pass some allotments and then the Hampshire Wildlife Trust's Milton Lock reserve which is the last bit of natural shore on the Portsmouth side of the Harbour.  From the Trust reserve you can leave the muddy beach and find a path along the edge of the shore.

After the Milton locks Reserve you come to the 'The Thatched House' which you might find useful as a refreshment stop.  Beyond the pub the path turns north and crosses the old Milton Locks. 

Milton Lock to Portcreek

The path from the locks along the shore is obvious and easy going. Just keep the harbour on your right. On your left you pass :

The north west corner of the harbour at Port Creek has a car-park off the A27/A2030 roundabout which is an alternative start/finish point for the walk.

Port Creek to Broadmarsh

A short section of concrete sea wall leads from here to the entrance to Farlington Marshes Nature Reserve. Here you have a number of choices:

From the Reserve exit follow the path firstly alongside the A27 trunk road and then along the edge of a grassy mound on your left. There is another car-park here and a little further along the path one by the Broadmarsh slipway.

From Broadmarsh you have to cross two streams which necessitates diverting inland. First follow the Hermitage Stream inland until you can cross it on a road bridge. Turn right along the road for 600m and then turn right down the side of Brockhampton Stream following the signs for the ’Wayfarer’s Walk’. You will soon be back on the harbour shore looping round the outside of the Budd’s Farm sewage works and arrive at the South Moor car-park at the end of South Moors Lane.  The hermitage and Brockhampton stream are both frequented by Kingfishers in the winter and the stretch of the Brockhampton Stream between the road and the pathway bridge is a good place to look for the beautiful and elegant grey wagtail.

From the South Moor car-park keep with shore line until you are again forced inland by an inlet. Follow this inlet until you can cross it by a bridge which takes you into Mill Lane. Follow this lane and when it turns sharp left pass through some shrubs to the main Havant to Hayling Road. Turn right and follow the road to Hayling Bridge.

There are car-parks and two public houses in Langstone - The Ship and The Royal Oak.

Cross the bridge to Hayling Island and as you leave the bridge make sure you are on the Langstone Harbour shore. Turn right along the shore line and gain the Hayling Billy Path where the old track bed of the Railway comes off what is left of the old bridge on your right.  After about 100m of the Hayling Billy trail a set of short steps on your right leads up to the path round the Oyster Beds. Follow this path curving to the left until you rejoin the shore and follow it to Stoke Bay.

Stoke Bay to West Town Theatre

A short distance east of the car-park at Stoke Bay there are Bus stops  and snacks can be bought at an Esso garage.  This section of the walk will take about 40 minutes.

The path south from here continues along the route of the old Hayling Island railway. This is a pleasant path but has no significant features apart from its wildlife.  The alternative walk along the shore is fairly hard going and has little extra to offer compared with the Billy Trail.  There are good views over the harbour and to Portsdown in the distance with chalk pits showing fairly obviously.

Wildlife at The Ferry

There are always gulls in the harbour entrance - mainly black-headed but you may well see the other common ones and occasionally Mediterranean or rarer gulls.  Cormorants are common and guillemot and shag have been seen in some recent winters.  In the summer expect to see common and sandwich terns.  These birds have a habit of gathering around the harbour entrance in the late summer and early autumn before migrating south. In recent years there have also been sightings of common seals from the ferry.  The best time to look out for any of these is mid week when the jet skiers are not about.

Features at the Ferry

On clear days the view north is toward Portsdown to the West and over Havant to the South Downs to the East.  Just inside the harbour entrance and on the Hayling side of the entrance channel is the wreck of a Mulberry Harbour caisson.  In the 1939/45 War these were manufactured and towed across the Channel to form safe harbours for the forces moving into Europe after D day - you can see pictures in the D day Museum in Portsmouth.  This caisson did not make it and remains as an object of interest and reminder of the war effort.

Eastney Wildlife

The enclosed bay known as Eastney Lake holds important populations of Brent Geese and Dunlin in the winter.  Most of the year you are likely to see redshank, ringed plover and oystercatchers.
The Milton locks Wildlife Trust Reserve covers two acres of grassland and foreshore and is a small segment of an almost vanished natural coastline.  In the rough grassland common mallow, wild carrot, autumn hawkbit and grow well .  Butterflies include small copper, green veined white and painted ladies.  Great green bush crickets are more often heard than seen and birds like whitethroat and blackcap may be seen in the summer months.

Eastney Features

Milton Locks

The remnants of the old locks are virtually the last remains of the Arundel to Portsmouth Canal.  Other hangovers are the name of one of the main streets in the centre of Portsmouth 'Arundel St' and the cutting near Fratton Bridge that was taken over by the railways.  The canal was opened in 1823 with great hopes of a waterway linking Portsmouth and London.  Two factors condemned the venture.  Firstly the sea water in the canal seeped into the town's water supply and then the much more efficient railways arrived on the scene.  The canal was drained by 1832.

Pumping engine museum

Hayling Billy Line

The Hayling island Branch line became famous because of the fact that the bridge to the Island was not strong enough to take 'modern' steam locomotives.  As a result a number of the so called 'Brighton Terriers' were kept by the Railways to operate the service, which in the summer could be very intensive.  The line from Havant to Langstone was opened in 1865.  There were docks at Langstone and at one time a plan to operate train ferries to the isle of Wight!  The first trains reached South Hayling in 1867.

The bridge deteriorated until in 1962 it was estimated that £400,000 would be needed to put it right and the line closed in 1963.  Most of the engines that used to operate the service were snapped up by preservationists and can be seen on such lines as the Isle of Wight steam Railway, the Bluebell Line and the Kent and East Sussex.

Hayling Wildlife

The Oyster Beds to the north of the eastern side of Langstone Harbour have historically been the site of various ventures, generally unsuccessful, connected with Oyster farming.  The beds were used to hatch the baby oysters which were later seeded into the harbour channels to grow to edible size.  Long defunct most of the old bunds, which were becoming dangerous, have recently been removed and the outer area is now an excellent feeding and roost area for the harbour's waders - which are best viewed at high tide.  At low tide besides curlews and redshanks you will see a lot more birds including the little egrets which have colonised southern Britain in the last 10/15 years. One lagoon has been kept as a saline lagoon and while a lot of work needs to be done to bring this lagoon up to true saline lagoon standard the island in the lagoon (left) is already an important breeding site for scarce little terns.  In 1999 this was the most productive site in the UK for this species.