Hayling Island

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The coastline of Hayling Island. North is up.

Map sources for Hayling Island at grid reference SU722005

Beaches at Hayling Island.

Hayling Island is an island off the south coast of England, in the county of Hampshire. It is twinned with Gorron, Mayenne, France.

It is shaped like an inverted T, about 6.5 kilometers (4 miles) long and 6.5 kilometers wide. A single bridge connects its northern end to the mainland of Great Britain. A small passenger ferry connects it to the neighbouring island of Portsea where the city of Portsmouth is located. To the west is Langstone Harbour and to the east is Chichester Harbour.

It is a well known holiday, windsurfing and sailing centre. In fact, Hayling Island is where windsurfing was invented. Originally it was thought to be an American invention, but after a court battle the title was given to Hayling Island. Sailing is massive on Hayling Island and is where many Olympic medal winners have raced.

The funfair 'Beachlands' was once banned from playing music, since the residents in nearby apartments complained to the council. At present, there are no late night establishments on Hayling Island.

Hayling Island had a great sandy beach until recent years when it was manually filled with stones to stop it from washing away. Regardless, it is still a favoured holiday destination.

As detailed in the section on The Solent, the coastline in this area has substantially changed since Roman times, it is believed much land has been lost from the sandy coasts of Hayling and Selsey by erosion.

Due to lack of use, the ferry service to and from Portsea island is subsidised by the local authorities. This leaves the ferry under constant threat of closure due limited resources. Other than the ferry, the only public connection between Hayling Island and the mainland is a single carriageway A road linking Northney to Langstone, Havant. In summer in particular, this road can become very congested rendering the journey between the bridge and South Hayling (the most populated area) anything from 30 minutes to an hour.

Until 1963 a small train connected the island to Langstone, Havant and the main line (The Hayling Billy Line). Salt production was an industry on the island from the 11th century (the Domesday Book recorded a saltpan on the island for this purpose) until the late 19th century.

There is a 2 foot narrow gauge railway that runs for just over a mile from Beachlands Station to Eastoke Corner. The East Hayling Light Railway.

At the northwest corner of the island lies the Hayling Oysterbeds Local Nature Reserve