Paddleboarding spots in Hampshire

Fleet Pond is a 48-hectare lake in Fleet, Hampshire, the largest freshwater body in the county and a Site of Special Scientific Interest since 1951. This slipway sits at Boat House Corner, added as part of the Fleet Pond Corridor improvement works. Hart District Council issues boating permits for the reserve, with boating allowed between 16 June and 14 March under its fishing and boating policy.

Ower foreshore slipway, Fawley

This slip sits on the Southampton Water shore at Ower, in Fawley parish, on the site of the former Fawley Power Station, which closed in 2013 and was largely demolished between 2019 and 2023. A redevelopment of the site, Fawley Waterside, was proposed but shelved in 2024.

Calshot Castle foreshore

This point sits on Calshot Spit near Calshot Castle, a circular artillery fort built in 1539 by Henry VIII to guard the entrance to Southampton Water. The surrounding foreshore forms part of Hampshire County Council's Calshot site, with pay-and-display parking nearby.

Ashlett Creek put-in (Fawley)

This slipway is on Ashlett Creek in the hamlet of Ashlett near Fawley, about 150 metres from the well-known Ashlett Hard slip, and gives onto the same tidal creek that opens into Southampton Water.

Fawley put-in (New Forest)

This slipway lies on Southampton Water near Ower, within the site of the former Fawley Power Station, which is being redeveloped into the Fawley Waterside marina and town scheme. OpenStreetMap tags the slipway access=private.

Calshot Spit slipway (Fawley)

This slipway sits on Calshot Spit, the shingle bank at the mouth of Southampton Water off Fawley, close to Calshot Activities Centre. Hampshire County Council runs a launch and storage membership scheme here with three, six and twelve-month launch passes, and OpenStreetMap marks the point as a small-craft facility.

Emsworth slipway

This slipway is by a boat storage yard on Emsworth's waterfront, at the head of the Emsworth Channel, the northernmost of Chichester Harbour's three main channels. The town's harbour basin fills at high tide and drains through sluice gates as the tide falls.

Eastoke slipway, Hayling Island

This slipway is on Marine Walk in Eastoke, the built-up south-eastern corner of Hayling Island, launching onto Hayling Bay, the open sea off the island's south coast. It lies a short distance west of the approach to Chichester Harbour's entrance.

Eastoke slipway, Hayling Island (Seafarers Walk)

This slipway is on Seafarers Walk in Eastoke, near Hayling Island's eastern tip at Sandy Point, launching towards the mouth of Chichester Harbour. The harbour entrance here is shallow and includes Chichester Bar, which the harbour authority describes as a navigation hazard at all states of the tide.

Fairthorne Manor slipway (Curdridge)

This launch point is the pontoon and slipway at Fairthorne Manor, a YMCA outdoor centre on the upper, non-tidal River Hamble near Curdridge. Self-launch costs 5.50 pounds per craft per visit, stand-up paddleboard hire runs seasonally from April to September, and under-18s must be accompanied on the water.

Clayhall put-in (Gosport)

This slipway sits by Haslar Bridge in Clayhall, on the Gosport side of Portsmouth Harbour's entrance. It launches onto Haslar Lake, the tidal reach of Haslar Creek that runs past Haslar Marina before opening into the harbour. The Joint Services Adventurous Sail Training Centre operates from the same stretch of bank.

Clayhall put-in (Gosport)

This slipway sits on the Solent shore near Fort Gilkicker, at the eastern tip of Stokes Bay in Gosport, close to the approach to Portsmouth Harbour. Clayhall, the Gosport neighbourhood the name refers to, lies just inland of this stretch of coast.

Chilling slipway, near Warsash

This slip sits on the Southampton Water shore at Chilling, a small hamlet on the Solent Way south of Warsash, next to the Solent Breezes caravan park. The Hook-with-Warsash Local Nature Reserve, a Hampshire County Council reserve of mudflats, saltmarsh and grazing marsh on the Hamble estuary and Southampton Water, lies immediately to the north.

Riverside Boatyard slipway, Lowford (Bursledon)

This slipway lies within or immediately beside Riverside Boatyard's grounds at Lowford, on the River Hamble close to the M27 crossing north of Bursledon Bridge. The boatyard offers moorings, a 30-tonne boat lift and a chandlery run from a converted WWII concrete barge; general public access to the slip itself is not confirmed.

Botley slipway

This slipway at Botley sits close to the practical head of navigation on the River Hamble, where the tidal reach meets an ancient watermill. Parking is limited to about two cars with a short walk to the water, and paddlers can only reach or leave Botley within a couple of hours either side of high tide.

Sowley shore slipway (private)

This is a private gravel slipway on the Solent shore within the Sowley and Pylewell Park Estate. It lies several miles from the village of Boldre, which the harvester's guessed water body name was mistakenly drawn from.

Bedhampton put-in (Havant)

This slipway is off Harts Farm Way in Bedhampton, at the northern end of Langstone Harbour where the village sits at the foot of Portsdown Hill's eastern end. Southmoor local nature reserve, which floods at high tide, lies close by on the harbour's edge. Langstone Harbour Board requires a permit and harbour dues for all craft using the harbour, including paddlers.

Bedhampton put-in (Havant)

Hermitage Stream access, Bedhampton

This point sits beside Hermitage Stream on Staunton Road in Bedhampton, a suburb of Havant at the foot of Portsdown Hill. The stream is a small watercourse, mapped at only about 2.5 metres wide, that runs through the Hermitage Stream Walk green corridor before eventually reaching Langstone Harbour.

Beaulieu River slipway (St Leonards)

This is a slipway on the tidal Beaulieu River near St Leonards, about 2km downstream of Buckler's Hard. The Beaulieu Estate permits paddlers to launch only from the slipway at Buckler's Hard Yacht Harbour, so this bank slipway more likely serves a private riverside mooring than public paddling access.

Beaulieu River slipway (Keeping Marsh)

This is a slipway on the tidal Beaulieu River at Keeping Marsh, close to Buckler's Hard. The Beaulieu Estate permits paddlers to launch only from the slipway at Buckler's Hard Yacht Harbour, so this marshside slipway more likely serves a private mooring than public access.

Beaulieu River slipway (Gravelly Marsh)

This is a slipway on the tidal Beaulieu River at Gravelly Marsh, further downstream toward the river's mouth on the Solent. The Beaulieu Estate permits paddlers to launch only from the slipway at Buckler's Hard Yacht Harbour, so this downstream slipway more likely serves a private mooring than public access.

Buckler's Hard slipway, Beaulieu River

Buckler's Hard Yacht Harbour's slipway is the only point on the privately owned Beaulieu River where the estate permits paddlers to launch or land a canoe, kayak or paddleboard. The estate charges a launch fee and takes online slot bookings, and the ramp dries out steeply so should be avoided for two hours either side of low water.

Canal

Barley Mow Slipway