Tag: Southampton Water

Pears, picking litter and pony traps

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11 August 2015

Saturday was the day of the annual Big Beach Clean Up on Weston Shore. Of course, I was working so, much as I’d have liked to, I couldn’t be there. The Friends of Weston Shore do a fantastic job organising these events and keeping the shore clean although I always think it’s a shame they have to. If everyone took their rubbish home there’d be no need and these dedicated folks could spend their time enjoying the beach. Unfortunately, people just discarding litter wherever they like, even right next to a bin, seems to be a sign of the times. Continue reading Pears, picking litter and pony traps

grasses, guns and good news

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30 June 2015

Once I’d left the jetty behind it was back to the meandering trail Which led me through the dappled shade at the edge of Hamble Common to a sign that warned of erosion ahead. At first I was in two minds whether to risk the crumbling path but the bank seemed low, at least at first, and the alternative of walking on the shingle wasn’t very appealing. Ahead I could see the masts of boats and what I thought was Hamble Point. It didn’t look too far so I chose danger over slog. Continue reading grasses, guns and good news

Two foreigners in a historic dockyard

Bitterne Station, off into the unknown
Bitterne Station, off into the unknown

12 March 2015

There is much rivalry between the two big port cities on Southampton Water, some of it good natured. Less than thirty miles apart, the gap between them often seems unbreachable and many think the animosity is football based. Certainly there is no love lost between the two sets of fans but it is far older than football. What began in medieval times as rivalry between Portsmouth, the fishing village turned small port, and the thriving port of Southampton, worsened after the sinking of the Titanic. Southampton sailors deemed sister ship, Olympic, unsafe due to a lack of lifeboats and refused to crew her. Portsmouth dockers took their place, travelling in the dead of night to avoid being attacked by angry Southampton mobs. Continue reading Two foreigners in a historic dockyard

sea, ruins and melting snow

Weston Shore
Weston Shore

3 Fenruary 2015

Pretty soon I was crunching through the snow around the corner, where the Seaweed pub used to stand, to the shore. Beside me snow was caught in the seed heads of the swaying grasses and I could see a ragged line of white where the shingle beach should be. Despite the dark clouds everything looked sparkling and bright. The brooding snow cloud on the horizon almost hid the towers and spires of Fawley on the other side of the water but the sun was doing battle with them, trying hard to burn through.  Across the road the little beach shelters looked lonely on the empty foreshore, it seemed as if I was the only person in the world, with the whole beach to myself. Continue reading sea, ruins and melting snow