Portsmouth Harbour

Portsmouth Harbour is a large natural harbour between Portsmouth and Gosport, covering more than twelve square kilometres. It has been the home of the Royal Navy for centuries, and today it is also one of Britain’s busiest ferry harbours, with ships to France, Spain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Wight sailing past the historic forts at its narrow mouth.

History

The harbour is a drowned river valley, opening into the Solent through a narrow entrance that made it almost impossible to attack from the sea. At its northern end stands Portchester Castle, built by the Romans as the first fortress to guard it. Even so, the French burned Portsmouth in 1338, and over the following centuries the entrance was ringed with forts and batteries. Since the Middle Ages the harbour has been the base of England’s, and later Britain’s, navy, sheltered by the Isle of Wight and close to the Channel. During the Civil War, Parliamentary forces captured the Royalist ship Henrietta Marie inside the harbour.

Visiting

The best way to see the harbour is on a harbour boat tour or the Gosport ferry, which crosses in a few minutes. The Historic Dockyard, with HMS Victory, HMS Warrior and the Mary Rose, the Spinnaker Tower, Gunwharf Quays and the Round Tower at the harbour mouth all overlook the water. The upper harbour is a protected wetland, important for wintering wildfowl and waders.