Sunday Second Walk - Historic Portsmouth, sandy beaches and a ferry ride

Extra Walk 179 Portsmouth to Havant via Hayling Island
Length: 21km (13 miles) Toughness: 1/10

09:30 Portsmouth Harbour train from Waterloo (Clapham Junction 09:30) arriving at Portsmouth Harbour at 11:13.

Fast return trains from Havant to Waterloo are at xx:50 (journey time 1 hour 24 minutes) and there’s a slower, stopping service at xx:07. Buy a £16 South West Trains promotional day return.

While summer lasts, here’s a walk with ample opportunities for a swim. The re-launch of the much-missed Hayling Ferry on 5th August means that the intended route of this easy coastal walk now becomes practicable again. From Portsmouth’s historic harbour the route goes along Southsea promenade and Eastney naturist beach to a short ferry ride to Hayling Island where a disused railway path is followed around Langstone Harbour to Havant. An alternative option on Hayling Island is to continue along seaward-facing sandy beaches to Sandy Point Reserve and then catch a bus to Havant (buses leave at xx:23 until 17:23, then last bus at 18:53). Check the ferry times on the Hayling Ferry website – it is timed to run every 40 minutes at present (e.g. 12:40, 13:20, 14:00).

Two possible lunch pubs are the Ferryboat Inn on the Hayling Island side of the ferry, or the Inn on the Beach, about 2.5km further on.

Walk directions are not really needed for this simple coastal walk, but further information can be found on the SWC Walk 179 page.