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Hampshire, England

Hill Head put-in (Fareham)

LaunchA council-owned concrete slipway, built in the 1960s alongside the sea defences, crossing the promenade onto shingle that gives way to sand at low water; usable at all states of the tide.
ParkingThe Salterns pay-and-display car park (170 spaces, 6 disabled) adjoins the slipway, charged 10:00 to 18:00 with a 12-hour maximum stay; an annual coastal season ticket is available.
AccessListed by Fareham Borough Council among four public slipways for general use, on foreshore held on a Crown Estate lease; no permit or licence is required for unpowered craft.
SeasonDogs are restricted on this stretch of beach from 1 May to 30 September; the public toilets at Salterns Beach are open all year.
RegulationsThe slipway sits at the western edge of the Dockyard Port of Portsmouth, regulated by the King's Harbour Master, where a 10-knot speed limit applies within half a nautical mile of shore. No launch fee is charged for the slipway itself, only for car parking.

This slipway sits on Hill Head Beach, a shingle beach on the Solent in Fareham borough, roughly a kilometre east of the River Meon mouth and the Titchfield Haven nature reserve.

The open Solent shore

This stretch of the Solent lies within the Dockyard Port of Portsmouth's jurisdiction and forms part of the wider Solent and Southampton Water Ramsar site, Special Protection Area and Site of Special Scientific Interest; recreational disturbance to the overwintering birds that make the area internationally important is managed through the Bird Aware Solent partnership.

About a kilometre west, at the mouth of the River Meon, a shell-and-shingle spit called Rainbow Bar extends offshore and dries out on the ebb, marked by a black-and-yellow post with a cross topmark.

Nearby

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Breezes

Cafe on Hill Head Road, about 700 metres along the seafront from the slipway.

Conditions to check

Tidal flow

The Solent has an unusual double tidal cycle with a modest three-to-four-metre spring range but strong tidal streams; the flood runs broadly east to west along this shore and the ebb west to east.

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Shallow or rocky

The foreshore at Hill Head shelves gradually, so a wide band of shingle and sand uncovers at low water and covers again within a few hours.

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Boat traffic

Sailing, kitesurfing and windsurfing clubs work this stretch, with seasonal racing marks laid roughly March to November.

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