River Hamble - 22nd December 2007

The previous week's walk was so nice I thought I'd come back, this time at high tide.

Yachts at Swanwick on a December morning	Looking North towards the railway and M27 motorway bridges, the tide is almost fully in.	Yachts moored next to Bursledon Bridge	Bursledon Bridge, part of the main road between Southampton and Portsmouth until the M27 motorway was built some thirty years ago.	Bursledon Bridge, the railway bridge can be seen here
Somebody has tried to be clever by altering the sign! Look closely also at the blue and white pointing sign - somebody has added some extra letters and given it a rude meaning!	Public Hard, Bursledon. A miscellany of assorted rowing boats seems to be stuck here for no apparant reason.	Public Hard	Looking back towards Bursledon from the Eastern bank of the River Hamble	Look how still the water is here
Looking downriver but the water is as smooth as a mirror.	Looking towards Bursledon and its numerous boat yards	Yachts	Yachts moored at the Universal & Crableck Marina, a very prestigious establishment	Looking back towards Bursledon
Luxurious (and no doubt very expensive) boats at Universal Marina	Universal Marina, the gantry crane is used for lifting boats out of the water so that they can be repaired	Universal Marina	Universal Marina. The boats are protected by secure gates	Universal Marina; while it is mostly used for mooring yachts, there are a couple of Houseboats at the far end of it
Yachts	The causway footpath	The causeway and a very prominent ship wreck	Smoky boats on the far side of the river	Universal Marina
These Houseboats float at high tide but lay on the mud when the tide is out.	A brave soul in a canoe!	Shipwreck	Shipwreck	Looking down river, the yacht masts contrast nicely with the numerous chimney stacks of Fawley refinery
This guy must be mad!	Various boats and more smoke	Houseboats again	The causeway. The right hand side of this walk is all mud when the tide is out.	Looking along the causeway
Yachts	The causeway	The perfectly smooth water reflects the clouds and trees	Totally still waters	Spot the birds (they're well hidden!)
The remains of another ship	Shipwreck	The remains jut out of the water like the top of a submarine	This shipwreck is very photogenic!	No idea what type of boat it was though or when it ran aground
Yachts	The rubber ring suggests it's not all that old.	Rusting dereliction, probably the remains of another boat.	Two swans-a-swimming	Yachts. The Universal Marina seems to jut out a long way into the river.
Smoky boats again on the other side of the river and some kind of barge	Ducks	Bright colours dominate the boats on show here	This lovely boat is the largest vessel on the river and is somebody's floating home.	It must be larger than the average flat!
Pure class	The blue telephone box is one of several ex BT boxes around the Southampton area that have found their way into private locations. I'm not sure what it's purpose is now, there are only half a dozen or so boats that are moored to the gangway here.	Expensive boats	Looking along the gangway to the yacht moorings	The houseboats seem to be a separate part of the marina
A close look at the houseboat tests my crummy 3x zoom lens to the extreme and reveals her name is 'Leotina'. According to Google, she recently sold for £165,000...	Universal Marina	A festive Robin, again testing my zoom lens to the extreme (please Santa, bring me a new camera!)	This very steep hill leads from Bursledon station into the village itself but I chose to take the equally steep footpath instead as I had half an hour to kill before the train arrived.	A view from Land's End Road. Very foolishly, I had set out without my trusty OS Explorer map (having only planned to walk the Eastern side of the river) so didn't realise it was a dead end road.
Panoramic views across the river	View from the end of the road. I turned around and walked back up the hill here, past the Jolly Sailor pub (which I will be visiting in the summer)	Bursledon village. I have never seen the village itself; for most people, Bursledon is merely a place where Tesco is or the name of a station but it is a very pleasant little village.	The Vine Inn, Bursledon. Another pub to try in the summer!	View along the railway line (looking NE) from a bridge that carries only a dirt track
View SW along the railway line from the other side of the track/footpath	After traipsing all along this footpath with hope of finding the river, I came to a 'private property' sign so had to turn around again. Whoever owns the house here has also installed another old telephone kiosk, this time in it's proper red livery and a nice old lamp post.	Back to Salterns Lane and another footpath, hopefully leading towards Hamble. It offered very good views across the river though. These marshes are home to lots of interesting wildlife although they must have been on holiday when I visited. Either that or my tripod scared them off!	Yachts - Universal Marina I think	This side of the river doesn't have many yachts but instead has some more interesting boats of various types. The one in the centre of the shot here is very nice.
This creek runs alongside the footpath.	A hut of some kind and a crusing boat.	The boats on the left here are obviously lived in judging by the smoke. They must burn coal as there was a vaguely pleasant steam engine type smell in the air	The creek	A large barge on the marshes
The marshes	More smoky boats	A close-up of the sailing boat, unlike most of the boats here, it's not lived on by the looks of it.	Smoky boats.	Another panorama of the smoky boats. Not sure why they are moored on the marshes here, it must be a pain having to use a dingy to get to and from your home.
The marshes	This footpath ended on the marshes and is another dead end! Why didn't I bring that map? A tatty barge and a shed lay on the other (inaccessible) side of the creek	More houseboats on the other side of the creek. It must be very peaceful in this quiet part of the river. The swans here add to the idyllic scene	Houseboats	The creek and marshes
More Houseboats	A crooked tripod and very still waters	Yachts	Ducks	A Barge. Judging by the smoke somebody must live here.
Another photo of the first group of Houseboats	A very nice Houseboat	And another one, surrounded by waterfowl	Again!	Hmmn, this boat is not as elegant as the others
The creek	The creek	Houseboats	After turning back along the path, I took another photo of the first group of boats	I then got totally lost with nothing further of interest to photograph apart from this derelict house. Most of the houses in Salterns Lane are very posh indeed...no doubt this will soon be converted into something expensive.
The Linden Tree pub in Lowford. I never realised this place existed!	The Linden Tree

Total images: 107 | Last update: 23/12/07 22:17 | Generated by JAlbum 7.2 & Chameleon | Help