I’m at Hillhead Harbour to start today’s walk. It’s a lovely sunny day but there is a very stiff easterly wind!
The River Meon flows into the sea here, beneath the road and through the harbour.
Inland is the Titchfield Haven Nature Reserve…
I set off along the sea wall…
As I round the bend the Fawley Oil Refinery can be seen on the other bank of Southampton Water. I’m going to have to walk around all that in a couple of walks time!
Shortly the sea wall ends and the Coast Path heads up onto the top of a low cliff. I have a choice - I could walk along the beach but it looks a bit too pebbly, so I choose the cliff top…
Pretty quickly I regret my choice! The bushes on either side make the path very narrow and there are clouds of midges everywhere! I find a gap in the bushes with a ‘sort of’ path down the cliff. Looks do-able…
Once onto the beach I find it’s not as pebbly as I thought! There is a strip of sand to walk on - mostly…
After about twenty-five minutes I reach the Solent Breezes Holiday Village. The official Coast Path is diverted inland around this but the beach looks passable. I’m here three hours before high tide so it looks like you might not be able to get round when the water is higher. Once again - always check your Tide Times, kids!
I’m now at a small spit where the River Hamble flows into Southhampton Water.
Here I find another ‘path closed’ sign. As usual I don’t fancy the detour, so I decide to ignore the sign and carry on along the path…
Looking good so far…
Here is the broken bit…
Made it to the other end (note impressive ‘barrier’!)…
I turn left and head up the river bank along the easy path…
Little more than ten minutes later I arrive in Warsash, my end point for today. Looks like quite a boaty sort of place, so it seems appropriate to finish at the Harbour Master’s gaff…
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