FREE HIKE - The Island That Wouldn't Fall - Portsea Circular
Details
📅 Saturday, 28 March 2026
⏰ Meet at 10:30 AM, and we will start at 10:45 AM
📍 Meet outside Portsmouth Harbour Station (main entrance)
🚶 Distance: Approx. 13–15 miles
🔁 Type: Circular urban & coastal hike
⚡ Pace: Medium/fitness pace
🅿️ Parking - At Station or at the Historic Dockyard (PO1 3GW) within 6 mins walk to the station
# 🏙️ Portsea Island Trail
This is a long urban route circling Portsea Island, taking in a mix of city, suburban, and coastal scenery. The walk begins along the Millennium Promenade and across Southsea Common, where the Portsmouth Naval Memorial stands — a stark obelisk bearing the names of nearly 25,000 sailors who have no known grave but the sea.
From here, the route reaches Southsea Castle, built in 1544 under Henry VIII to guard against a feared French invasion. The castle was barely completed when Henry is said to have watched from nearby as his flagship, the Mary Rose, heeled over and sank in the Solent, taking all but around 35 of her crew.
Southsea Castle has seen repeated flashes of drama since: in 1642, it was taken by Parliamentarian forces against a very small Royalist garrison, and in 1940 its guns were trained on French warships during the uneasy aftermath of France’s surrender, amid fears that vessels might fall into German hands — a tense standoff before the ships were ultimately seized by the Royal Navy.
Continuing east along the shoreline, the path passes Eastney Battery West and East, Victorian gun batteries constructed in the 1860s as part of a wider programme of coastal defence. Like many of Portsmouth’s fortifications, they were built in anticipation of invasion that never came.
The route then follows the quieter edge of Langstone Harbour, before meandering across Milton Common, past its lakes, and onward alongside the road to Ports Creek.
Along the northern edge of the island, the walk traces the line of the Hilsea Moat and passes the bastions of the Hilsea Lines — the last bastioned land fortification system built in Britain, constructed to defend the island’s only land approach. Ironically, rapid advances in artillery meant the defences were already becoming obsolete by the time they were completed.
Heading south past Alexandra Park and through Portsea’s residential streets, the route returns to Portsmouth Harbour, completing a full circuit of an island that spent nearly five centuries preparing for invasion.
The majority of the trail follows city streets and paved paths. There are several points of interest along the route.
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## 🌊 Highlights
• Coastal promenades with wide sea views
• Tudor, Victorian, and WWII military remains
• Quiet harbour paths contrasting with city streets
• The hidden arc of the Hilsea Lines and moat
• A complete walk around the edge of Portsea Island
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## ⚠️ Group Guidelines (Important)
• Please stay with or behind the hike leader at all times to keep the group together
• You must be able to see the person in front of you — urban routes have frequent turns
• This is mainly hard surfaces — supportive, comfortable footwear will help
• Bring water, lunch, weather-appropriate layers, and a torch
• This is a voluntary activity — you take part at your own risk. The organiser accepts no liability
• Please read the About Us section before signing up:
👉 https://www.meetup.com/free-hiking-outdoor-fitness-and-social-activities
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## ☕🍻 After the Hike
We’ll finish in Portsmouth Harbour for a drink/dinner at a local pub to wind down.
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📱 Contact
If you’re delayed or lose the group, message me on WhatsApp: 07830 374 629 (Please don’t call during the hike — I’ll be leading and navigating.)