South Coast

If you travel to Southampton you'll find that much of it is modern with only pockets of buildings that survived the war.

For something a little more pleasing we can follow the river Itchen. Before it reaches Southampton, it is little more than a stream, but it widens greatly through riverside park, and under Cobden bridge. And that is where you can spot these houseboats.

Head further down the river Itchen, and for a while there are few places where we can reach the water, but eventually we come to Ocean Village.  Thirty years ago it was a vibrant little marina with a two storey mall of quirky shops and cafes that spilled out for views of the marina.  There were some desirable houses and flats to be found too.  Development has been on turbo since then, so now the water and the original residences are all but crowded out by tower blocks.  Its still an interesting place to paint though, and it was fun to try my hand at a skyscraper!

If you find your way to Hamble it might be because you remember an old TV series that featured the place.  Its nothing like what you imagined, but there is a little cobbled street that heads down to the shore.  And a little promenade to enjoy the views.

There is also a little pink ferry to take you across the river to Warsash and a drink at 'The Rising sun'.  A pleasant walk from there follows the river bank up to Bursledon.

Next stop Portsmouth.  Walking South from the harbour station you pass through a modern shopping precinct with a tall pointy millenium folly, and eventually reach the more relaxing old town.  There is a cathedral (which turns out to be mainly quite new), and then a stop for a drink and maybe a meal at one of the old pubs in this part of town.  Looking back towards the historic dockyard and HMS Warrior, you see very little of the modern world.

Next you come to the artists galleries in the arches.  Above on the wall you get a look back to where you've come from, which somehow sums up the city in one view.  And below there is a slither of beach that gets covered by the tide.  In this part of the coast there is a double high tide, so its in most of the time.

If you walk the walls and next come to the very 1950s looking Clarence pier.  It has to be the shortest you have seen, for it doesn't even reach the sea.

Follow the shore East and you come to the little ferry across to Hayling Island.  Close to where you land there is a ramshackle cafe to enjoy a bit of tea and cake whilst local lads dip in the sea outside and cast their lines in the hope of catching something better than a chill.

You could walk along the beach from here, but if you start along the ferry road instead, you pass chalets and an inlet known as The Kench.  At low tide its mud, but you catch it at high tide as a couple of swans paddle the shallows.

Bosham is a fairly pretty place known for the muddy creeks that surround it and the road which is submerged at high tide, stranding many a motorist that foolishly parked there, oh and a distinctive old church too.  Find the right footpath along the shore and you may come to this dogrose...