Everything about Calshot Spit totally explained
Calshot Spit is a one-mile long
sand and
shingle bank, located on the southern bank of the open end of
Southampton Water, on the south coast of
England.
At the end of the spit are
Calshot Castle (built by King
Henry VIII), an
RNLI lifeboat, a
Coastguard station, several
slipways, a former
Royal Navy and
Royal Air Force flying boat station and Calshot Activities Centre.
The castle is a low, circular, stone structure and was armed with large muzzle-loading
guns. Its purpose, when it was built in
1539, was to protect access to the important harbour at
Southampton from seaborne attack, by
France or
Spain from the
English Channel via the
Solent.
Calshot Naval Air Station was originally set up in
1913. Its choice as a location for operating
flying boats is clear: the landing area is sheltered by land on the three sides of Southampton Water and by the
Isle of Wight, several miles away, on the fourth side. In
1929 and
1931, Calshot was the venue for the
Schneider Trophy, an international air race for seaplanes.
The site is now used as a base for the
RNLI,
yachts and
HM Coastguard. The hangars house indoor climbing walls,
artificial ski slopes and a
cycle track.
The spit is a potential navigation hazard for ships entering
Southampton Water, and vessels are guided by the Calshot Spit light float. This replaced a
Trinity House lightship (LV 78) that was anchored off the spit and which now forms a permanent, static attraction at the
Ocean Village marina in
Southampton. It was built in
1914 by
J I Thornycroft shipyard in
Southampton and decommissioned in
1978.
There are spectacular views at night of the
Fawley refinery and power station lit up. On a clear day, the
Spinnaker Tower in
Portsmouth can be seen to the East, and the
Hamble estuary, to the North.
Further Information
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