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!
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!
…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…
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