Shamrock Quay

The marina combines a dense comb of pontoons with an unmistakable yard behind it: travel hoist, storage ashore, marine trades, café and chandlery. It feels more like a working waterfront community than a decorative basin. Upstream, Saxon Wharf continues the MDL Itchen story with heavier lifting; downriver, Ocean Village and the city offer the bright lights.

As for any Southampton Water arrival, keep clear of commercial shipping, listen on VHF Channel 12 and follow current VTS and port directions. MDL’s directions: at the Weston Shelf green buoy keep to starboard up the Itchen and observe the 6-knot limit. Shamrock Quay lies about 1,300 metres beyond the Itchen Bridge on the port side.

Call VHF Channel 80 or telephone for a berth before committing to the fairway. Check depths and bridge clearance with the marina before arrival, especially with a tall mast or on low spring tides.

MDL publishes 255 berths, with a 70-metre superyacht berth and a 60-metre visitor berth. Visitor berthing is available, with electricity included in the published visitor tariff, but berths are allocated by staff according to availability and vessel size. Call ahead.

The Itchen’s stream can run hard past the outer pontoons. If you are new to the river, ask the marina about the best time to arrive and request help with lines if needed.

MDL lists Wi-Fi, laundry, the Yellow Welly Café, a chandlery, EV charging and a modern shower and toilet block including disabled facilities. Confirm water and power for your allocated berth on arrival.

Fuel is not available on site (Hythe Marina Village or Port Hamble Marina), and pump-out is at Hythe. Sister marina Saxon Wharf is close by for heavier lifting.

Shamrock Quay remains a refit and boatbuilding centre. MDL publishes a 75-ton travel hoist, a 25-ton boat mover, storage ashore for over 200 boats and more than 25 on-site companies, from engineers to chandlery. Lifting is carried out by MDL’s yard team.

Choose this marina when the stay includes work as well as sleep. Book lifts and trade appointments with accurate dimensions and scope.

Southampton city centre, Westquay and the cultural quarter are a short taxi ride or brisk walk away. On site, the café and chandlery keep a short stay self-contained. Saxon Wharf is next door upstream, and Ocean Village sits toward the mouth of the Itchen for a livelier evening.

Check opening hours and transport details for the dates of your stay.

Cruising visitors who want an Itchen berth with trades and café on site; owners planning yard work short of Saxon Wharf’s heaviest lifts; crews linking a Solent passage with easy city access.

Skippers who need fuel or pump-out alongside; anyone expecting a reserved visitor berth without calling ahead.

The Shamrock V refit of 1967 gave the marina its name and still explains its culture: this was never only a parking place for boats. The Itchen’s banks have long mixed city, industry and yachting, and modern Shamrock Quay continues that mix, with specialist trades beside visitor pontoons and Southampton’s commercial port a few careful miles away.

Saxon Wharf lies immediately upstream. Ocean Village, Southampton Water, the River Hamble, Hythe, Cowes and Portsmouth Harbour form the natural cruising circle. Shape passages around commercial traffic and current forecasts rather than a fixed itinerary.

The practical information in this Guide was checked against the official source record below on 6 October 2026. Operational details can change.