Alverstoke put-in (Gosport)
Stokes Bay is a shingle beach on the mainland shore of the eastern Solent, between Gosport and Lee-on-the-Solent, with open views south to Ryde and East Cowes on the Isle of Wight. This launch sits at the bay's eastern end, where the remains of a Victorian pier lie just offshore and Fort Gilkicker, an 1870s coastal fort, stands half a mile along the shore.
The Stokes Bay pier
The wreck of Stokes Bay's Victorian pier lies just south of this slip. Opened in 1863 with its own branch railway from Gosport, the pier ran passenger ferries to the Isle of Wight before losing that service in 1915; the Admiralty then used it to handle munitions and fuel until it was demolished in the late 1970s. What survives lies just off this slip as a foul area, marked today by a yellow conical buoy.
Stokes Bay looks south across the Solent to Ryde and East Cowes, with warships too large for Portsmouth Harbour anchoring in the deep water offshore. In June 1944 landing craft embarked from the bay as part of the Normandy invasion, and Fort Gilkicker, an 1870s fort built to guard the approaches to Portsmouth Harbour, still stands half a mile to the east. The foreshore lies within the Lee-on-the-Solent to Itchen Estuary Site of Special Scientific Interest, part of the wider Solent and Southampton Water Special Protection Area and Ramsar site.
Nearby
Cafe by Pebble Beach car park, in the centre of the bay.
Touring caravan and camping park about a mile and a quarter from the slipway, open to the public for tents and touring caravans as well as static holiday-home hire.
WebsiteConditions to check
The tidal stream runs west from about two hours before until three hours after high water, then east for the rest of the cycle.
SourceThe remains of Stokes Bay's Victorian pier lie just south of this slip and are marked by a yellow conical buoy about 30 metres off the foul ground.
SourceThis stretch of the Solent is used by warships too large to enter Portsmouth Harbour, which anchor offshore, and by commercial shipping bound for Southampton.
SourceStokes Bay Sailing Club races dinghies and catamarans from the bay most Sundays, with a Winter Series through November and December.
SourceQuestions
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