28 Guides
The Solent
Britain’s most concentrated cruising ground: compact, tidal, crowded with choices and never quite mastered.
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Where do you want to sail?
Practical marina, harbour and cruising information, organised by the water. Choose a cruising area, then follow it into harbours, marinas and destinations.
Cruising areas
Start with the water
Each collection opens into the places that shape a passage: working harbours, sheltered rivers, visitor marinas and worthwhile stops ashore.
9 Guides
Poole Harbour
Europe's largest natural harbour combines a narrow, fast-running entrance with broad sheltered water, working shipping channels, islands, quiet areas and a dense cluster of marinas.
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Find a particular harbour, marina or destination
The published library · Marina · 28 Guides
Marina
Royal Clarence Marina
A sheltered deep-water marina in Weevil Creek, with all-tide access and quick reach of Portsmouth Harbour and the Solent.
Marina
Southsea Marina
A sheltered working marina behind a cill gate in Langstone Harbour, with tidal access and a full-service boatyard.
Marina
Hamble Point Marina
A purposeful marina at the mouth of the Hamble, shaped by quick Solent access, serious marine trades and a famously busy sailing river.
Marina
Port Hamble Marina
A busy lower-river marina with fuel, direct access to Hamble village and a front-row view of one of Britain’s great sailing communities.
Marina
Mercury Yacht Harbour
A sheltered, wooded River Hamble base whose quieter setting contrasts with the river’s constant sailing traffic.
Marina
Universal Marina
An upper River Hamble marina with a strong dry-stack identity and a setting that rewards an unhurried river passage.
Marina
Swanwick Marina
A substantial upper-Hamble marina where serious boat handling and a broad marine-service community sit beside sheltered river berths.
Marina
Deacons Marina
An intimate Bursledon marina with a useful boatyard and a close connection to the upper River Hamble’s working character.
Marina
Ocean Village Marina
A large city marina at the head of Southampton Water, combining serious berthing capacity with a lively urban waterfront.
Marina
Hythe Marina Village
A distinctive locked marina village on Southampton Water, with fuel, a 40-tonne lift and a residential waterside character.
Marina
Haslar Marina
A sheltered Gosport marina with immediate Portsmouth Harbour character and one of the Solent’s most recognisable lightships.
Marina
Gosport Marina
A central Gosport marina with immediate access to Portsmouth Harbour’s naval panorama and active waterfront.
Marina
Port Solent Marina
A locked marina deep inside Portsmouth Harbour, pairing sheltered berthing with a large waterside leisure development.
Marina
Lymington Yacht Haven
A major western Solent marina close to the river entrance, with 24-hour staff, a substantial boatyard and Lymington within reach.
Marina
Berthon Lymington Marina
A family-run shipyard marina where deep maritime capability sits close to Lymington town and the western Solent.
Marina
Island Harbour
A secluded locked marina upriver from Cowes, with more than 200 berths, a 50-tonne hoist and a genuinely different Isle of Wight mood.
Marina
East Cowes Marina
A substantial River Medina marina on the East Cowes shore, well placed for central Solent cruising and the island’s maritime life.
Marina
Ryde Marina
A friendly drying harbour beside Ryde's beaches and town, with a buoyed approach across Ryde Sands and a tidal entrance that demands current local advice.
Marina
Bembridge Marina
A characterful tidal harbour at the eastern end of the Isle of Wight, with visitor berthing at Duver Marina and an approach that rewards careful planning around the tide.
Marina
Poole Quay Boat Haven
Poole’s town-quay visitor marina puts boats directly beside the Old Town, restaurants and harbour life, with VHF 80 berthing and strong demand in summer.
Marina
Port of Poole Marina
A quieter Poole Harbour marina beside the commercial port, with direct access to the main shipping channel, annual berths and limited visitor capacity by arrangement.
Marina
Cobb's Quay Marina
A large, full-service MDL marina in Holes Bay, reached through Poole’s lifting bridges and offering visitor berths, fuel, boatyard support and extensive shore-side services.
Marina
Salterns Marina
A long-established full-service marina in Lilliput, close to Poole Harbour’s entrance, with visitor berths, swinging moorings, fuel and boatyard support.
Marina
Parkstone Bay Marina
A mixed wet-and-dry berthing marina in Parkstone Bay, offering visitor pontoons and moorings, fuel, boatyard services and a waterside restaurant.
Marina
Lake Yard Marina
A small deep-water marina and working boatyard on Hamworthy’s western shore, with 24-hour access, visitor space, moorings and a waterfront club and restaurant.
Marina
Chichester Marina
A large, sheltered lock-entry marina deep inside Chichester Harbour, combining serious marine facilities with easy access to one of the South Coast’s finest cruising grounds.
Marina
Northney Marina
A quiet Hayling Island marina at the northern end of Chichester Harbour, with sheltered berthing, proper boatyard facilities and a distinctly rural outlook.
Marina
Sparkes Marina
A friendly Hayling Island marina close to the entrance of Chichester Harbour, with straightforward access to open water, fuel, marine services and a wonderfully maritime setting.