Walk 58. Portchester to Gosport

 Today I’m back at Portchester Castle and the plan is to walk around the western side of Portsmouth Harbour to Gosport.

The view across the harbour of Portsmouth Naval Base and the Spinnaker Tower…

The coastal path starts off well…

But almost immediately I am stopped by the high tide…

So I have to follow the ‘high tide route’ back past the castle and through the streets of Portchester…

Fortunately this is only a ten minute detour and I find myself back beside the water…

I follow the path for about a mile and then have to take another short ‘high tide’ detour around a boatyard.

The view looking back at the obstruction…

The path continues along the northern shore of Portsmouth Harbour through some trees and past a sports ground…

At the northwest corner of Portsmouth Harbour the River Wallington flows into the sea. There is a square-ish bit of land here surrounded on three sides by water. Most of it seems to be occupied by a golf course and the waterside path around it appears to be popular with dog walkers!

As I walk up the river I see a guy on what looks like a motorised paddle board - no idea what these are actually called…

The view from the river bank is very pleasant, and the bridge is not far away - just by the buildings in this picture…

Soon I’m at the bridge. I cross it, go under the solid-looking brick viaduct that carries the railway, and turn left.

There is a few minutes of road walking here…

…before I get to a nice riverside walk area…

The other side of this green comes out on a main road…

I’m going to have to follow this road for quite a way, it seems. Access to the water is blocked by industrial areas and more MOD installations including a munitions store. Definitely to be avoided, I reckon!

A half hour’s march later I turn left down here…

…and continue for another fifteen minutes until I finally get back to the water!

I believe these guys are decommissioned and awaiting their fate…

Now, from here the map shows a public footpath following the shore. It does seem a bit gooey, however…

After only a few yards I give up and cut through a boatyard and onto the road!

Soon I reach Priddy’s Hard, home to surely the best-named museum ever - Explosion! 

Turns out you can walk through the ‘yard’ of the museum and out the other side…

Just south of Priddy’s Hard is a small inlet called Forton Lake. Fortunately there is a footbridge over it, saving me a detour around it!

The middle of the bridge gives a great view of the aircraft carrier HMS Prince Of Wales, docked in Portsmouth. It’s a fair old size…

Over the bridge there is a large housing development and a marina blocking public access to the sea. So I complete the last mile or so along the road to the Gosport Ferry terminal. This ferry operates across the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour and docks on the other side next to the railway station.

Bizarrely, after cloudless blue skies all day, as I turn the corner the sea is now covered in fog!

So that’s the finish for today. It’s been a slightly frustrating walk, what with all the road walking and the high tide, but there you go…

Walk 57. Portsmouth Harbour to Portchester

 Today’s walk will take me from Portsmouth Harbour station northwards, along the west coast of Portsea Island, back onto the mainland, and hopefully finishing at Portchester Castle.

Again, I’m expecting a fair amount of road walking through the city!

So I start outside the station…

…and turn left. Just a few yards ahead is the entrance to the Historic Dockyard. This is the portion of the Royal Navy base that is open to the public, and where you can see HMS Victory and the Mary Rose among many other exhibits. It’s well worth a visit, but be aware it will take a full day to see everything!

The rest of the naval base is still very much operational, and is obviously closed to the public! I set off up the road beside the high wall…

It’s impossible in this area of Portsmouth to escape the Royal Navy. Even civic decorations are navy-themed…

I carry on along the road past the dockyard. It goes on a bit…

Eventually I come to the other side of the base and pass the main gate…

Next door to the Royal Navy is the commercial ferry port. More road walking past that - and now I’ve got a motorway on the other side, the M275 to be exact!

I’m a bit unsure of the route here. So I stay on the road past a small row of houses to see where it takes me…

Whale Island, it turns out! Whale Island is also a part of the Navy base so, despite the bridge, it looks like I’m giving it a miss…

At least there is a nice path beside the motorway here…

When I reach Tipner, more MOD land, I turn inland a bit and cross underneath the motorway…

Passing a park-and-ride carpark, I walk through some residential streets for a few minutes before arriving back at the water at the Mountbatten Centre. This seems to be a swimming pool and sports centre - whatever it is, it has a funky roof!

The prom here has recently been built and is very busy with dog-walkers and young families. It’s a very pleasant walk and I even manage to spot some wildlife.

About twenty minutes later I reach the bridge over the narrow bit of water that separates Portsea Island from the mainland…

Crossing the bridge, I pass under the M27 and turn left. In front of me is a large business park with a lake called North Harbour. To the south is an area called Horsea Island, although it is no longer an island! To stay close to the coast means I want to walk around Horsea Island but access doesn’t seem possible. A large chunk is, again, occupied by the military, and there is also seemingly no way back across the motorway.

The official coast path runs along the main road to the north of the business park, which is not particularly appealing, so I head through the North Harbour gate hoping I can get out the other side!

Turns out there is a path round the far side of the lake…

Luckily there is an exit on the other side! A path branches off from the lakeside walk and leads out of the business park, goes through an underpass, and comes out at a large road junction…

Here I don’t seem to have much choice but to walk along the main road. I pass large supermarkets, chain hotels, car dealers and the like until, half a mile later, I reach the sea shore again.

I walk along the prom towards an industrial estate…

As I get closer I notice the name on the big building - Griffon Hoverwork! This is owned by the same company that owns Hovertravel (the Isle of Wight hovercraft service - see my last walk). So this is where they build hovercraft! Cool! I love hovercraft! 

To pass through the industrial estate I turn down here…

There are a few houses at the top of the street then it leads into the industrial estate itself. Continuing straight on for a couple of minutes brings me to a footpath that runs along the shore all the way to Portchester Castle…

So I arrive at the castle, my end point for the day.

Portchester Castle has quite a long history and is free to visit! Originally built by the Romans (the big square of ‘outside’ walls are Roman), the Normans built the tall keep in the northern corner, and at some point a church was built in the southern corner.

Roman walls (spot the terracotta ‘layers’ - very Roman!)…

Norman keep…

Medieval church…

Right, now I’m off to the cafe to get a coffee….