We are fortunate in Hampshire to have a coastline accessible to many. Hill Head to Gosport offers a great opportunity to take advantage of warm sunny days and allows the children to burn off some energy without it costing you much, also excellent crabbing in the Hill Head harbour in Summer.
The much practised but never perfected art of “stone scimming”
An airshow for free every day, not bad!
Lee-on Solent looking back to Hill Head.
A little extreme, but just because it’s October doesn’t mean we have to forget those outdoor sports that are so accessible along the south coast of Hampshire.
A blustery walk along the Salterns Park ( PO14 3LR) in Hill Head today gave me an insight into how to stay fit, if you are of that age, for me it was purely an enjoyable walk along the foreshore path which conveniently led to the Shack where a wide range of refreshments awaited the eager traveller.
This to me is what it is all about, getting out in the fresh air with the children and dogs and nobody telling you what to do, just forget about the worries of The Euro Zone and find a few things that are for FREE.
If you know of a similar walk, let us all know.
Was this an omen or just bad luck, the gallant effort to celebrate the outright win of the Schneider Trophy in 1931 was very nearly ruined by our somewhat unreliable summer weather.
John Russell of Euroseaplanes Ltd and French Pilot in his Airmax M22 gave a spirited display amidst threatening grey clouds and rain, we didn’t have that back in 1981 or 1931!
John Russell in his Cessna 182 floatplane finding his way around Calshot, and emerging after putting on a good display despite the conditions.
Behind the same Calshot Castle stood in 1931 the ‘High Speed Flight‘ with their machines, S1595 flown by Flt.Lt. Boothman to win the Schneider Trophy outright at a speed of 340.08 mph. S1596 set a new world speed record of 408.8 mph flown by Flt.Lt. Stainforth. Fg. Off L.S. Snaith far right.
John Russell with a model of the Supermarine S6B, well done.
The story of the last competitive race in 1929
The Schneider trophy Air Races 1913-1931
I returned to HMS Daedalus on Saturday 27th August 20011 as a part memory lane journey that I would have made many times in the late 50’s. My parents were fortunate enough to have a hut at Meon beach and that was our summer holidays, no trips to Spain! The highlight of the holiday was attending the Air Days at Daedalus in August, always so much to see and not the crowds you get at Farnborough these days.
The Hovercraft Museum had one of its limited open days coupled with the control tower for the airfield. Interesting to see the gliders being towed up by a De Havilland Chipmunk, and there was certainly an air of optimism around the whole site, hopefully this is the start of something big at Lee-on-Solent. SEE HISTORY
Flying! and water sports are inevitably linked to Lee-on-Solent, when Kitesurfing meets windsurfing.
Die another Day YouTube Hovercraft chase.
Craft used in James Bond “Die Another Day”
Having watched the Cowes fireworks and Red Arrows from Lepe beach in 2009, which was one of those balmy August evenings, we set off in anticipation last evening. Cheered on route by the news of Southampton’s impressive win over Leeds, and the black clouds were somewhere else, we arrived at Lepe beach at about 7pm to be welcomed by a force something onshore breeze. I would imagine these are not ideal conditions for close formation low level flying, and the display certainly took on a different format, sorry for those who under my recommendation went to Lepe.
We did however see a beautiful gathering of Ringed Plovers, obviously sheltering on the shore to avoid being blown away.
Hopefully next year the Red Arrows and the fireworks will be on the last Friday.
Anyone who saw the Arrows from another location, perhaps you can leave a comment, and if you have any stunning photos, email them to info@agentsmart.co.uk and I will add them to this post.
Hill Head is an unspoilt village situated at the mouth of the river Meon and a close neighbour of Lee-on-Solent. Hill Head boasts a combination of a small yacht haven, a National Nature Reserve, ideal conditions for windsurfing and kitesurfing and also one of the best kept secrets for shore fishing until now!
Until late in the 16th century, the River Meon was navigable as far as Titchfield, which at that time was a significant port. However silting started to restrict the passage of ships, and in order to maintain Titchfield’s status as a port, the Earl of Southampton proposed that a canal should be constructed. This canal opened in 1611 and was only the second canal existing in Britain at the time. Unfortunately the canal also suffered from silting and the sea trade moved to nearby Southampton and Portsmouth. As part of the construction of the canal, the outfall of the River Meon to the sea was dammed, creating the wetlands that now form the nature reserve.
Keen fisherman about to strike     Successful fisherman with a good size Flounder
The history of Hampshire covers major events that have helped to shape our county and make it the seventh wealthiest in the country. We encourage you to add your memories before it is too late, don’t put it off, Grandparents this is a call to action.
