Best things to do on Portsea Island

Best Things to do on Portsea Island

Portsea Island, a vibrant island off England’s south coast, offers a variety of experiences for everyone. Discover the island’s rich maritime heritage at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, home to the iconic HMS Victory and the Mary Rose Museum. For a modern twist, enjoy panoramic views from the Spinnaker Tower, standing 170 meters tall. Take a stroll through Southsea Common, a sprawling park by the seafront, and relax on its pebbled beaches. Shop and dine at Gunwharf Quays, a bustling waterfront complex with designer stores and diverse eateries, or walk around Portsea Island on the coast path. Join us as we explore the best things to do on Portsea Island, blending history, culture, and leisure.

Spinnaker Tower

Modelled on a sail this iconic tower is the tallest publicly accessible structure in the United Kingdom outside of London. The views of Portsmouth, Southsea and the Isle of Wight from the viewing deck are fantastic at any time, but at sunset are truly special. Walk across the vertiginous glass Sky Walk and watch the boats below. The Sky Garden has an open roof and is a unique place to have coffee, 105 metres above the harbour. For the adventurous, it is also possible to abseil down the side of the building.

Go crabbing in Canoe Lake

With its swan-shaped boats to hire, a bronze statue of an angel and colourful flowerbeds, Canoe Lake is good to walk around and fun for the children. Grab a bucket and fishing line and catch crabs in the lake. It’s also just across the road from Southsea Beach if you fancy a swim.

Viviers Fish Market

On the historic Camber Dock, adjacent to The Point, Viviers sells some of the freshest seafood on the South Coast. With tantalising displays of fresh fish, crab, lobster and shellfish you can also watch the comings and goings of the boats of the small fishing fleet based here if you get up early enough. Ben Ainslie’s racing headquarters are also located on Camber Dock and The Dolphin, reputed to be Portsmouth’s oldest pub, is almost next door.

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

Any trip to the UK’s most significant naval port must include a visit to at least one of its celebrated landmarks or museums. Portsmouth Historic Dockyard is a good starting point. It is home to the Mary Rose Museum which includes the ship itself, once Henry VIII’s favourite before it capsized in The Solent taking her crew of around five hundred with her. She is possibly more famous for the huge salvage operation in 1982, when she was returned to the surface on live television, along with hundreds of objects that lay with her. Next door, onboard HMS Victory it’s hard to not be struck with awe as you experience the low-ceilinged lower decks and the gold plaque on the upper deck that marks where Horatio Nelson was struck by the fatal shot whilst commanding this ship. Close by, HMS M.33 is the only remaining British veteran of the Battle of Gallipoli in World War I and the Russian Civil War which followed. The ship is one of just three British warships from World War I still in existence and was built on the orders of the First Lord of the Admiralty at the time, Winston Churchill. The dockyard is also home to the National Museum of the Royal Navy which tells the whole story of the British Navy’s 800-year history. It displays an extraordinary diversity of exhibits from the Enigma machine and Nelson’s table and chair from the Great Cabin of HMS Victory to an Exocet missile. There are also interactive screens that show the position of the British fleet today.

Stories of wartime subterfuge and elite forces

There are numerous other museums dedicated to more recent military and wartime history. Two excellent museums are The D-Day Story on Clarence Esplanade and The Royal Marines Museum on Eastney Esplanade. The former is the only museum in the UK dedicated to the Allied Invasion in 1944; it interprets the events from the perspective of the people involved – from the stories of subterfuge that kept the Germans from knowing the details of the operation to the factors that led to such a large attack being necessary. Some of it is hard to hear, especially the tales of lives lost and families quite literally blown apart. It is full of memorabilia from the pencil which Lt Cdr John Harmer used to sign the order to start the invasion to the tanks and landing craft used. It is also home to the Overlord Embroidery that was commissioned as a tribute to the sacrifice and heroism of those men and women who took part in Operation Overlord, the codename for the Battle of Normandy. It is the largest of its kind in the world. The Royal Marines Museum provides history of the operations this elite force has been involved in but of equal interest is the exhibition on the training they go through with one gallery telling the story of a Marine’s journey from getting off the train at Lympstone to being awarded the green beret. Trying on a standard issue rucksack and learning about how troops must operate in jungle, desert and arctic conditions leaves you with nothing but respect for these men and women. 

Swim off Southsea and Eastney Beaches

All three sections of lively Southsea Beach – Southsea East, West and Central – have lifeguards during the summer meaning you can go for a safe dip. Choose Eastney Beach for a quieter swim.

Cycle the island’s perimeter

This twenty-six-kilometre cycle ride around Portsea Island mostly uses Routes 2 and 22 of the National Cycle Network. The ride starts at the Portsea–Hayling Island ferry and uses a traffic-free path along the Esplanade, past the major historic military buildings to Southsea Castle. From here it heads north to Clarence Pier and the historic area of the city and Spinnaker Tower. It then weaves around the naval yards, past the Charles Dickens’ Birthplace Museum and cross-Channel ferry terminals to reach the waters of Portsmouth Harbour and the fortifications, woodland and meadows of the Hilsea Lines. The final stretch heads south down the east coast with fine views over Langstone Harbour. This route can be combined with the Hayling Island route.

Step back in time in Old Portsmouth

With cobbled streets, historic houses, traditional pubs and quaint cafes the historic Portsmouth Harbour of today is a world away from the press gangs, vice and debauchery of its past that earned The Point the name ‘Spice Island’ for its reputation as the ‘Spice of Life’. Located on the eastern side of the narrowest point of Portsmouth Harbour, you can almost touch the huge cross-Channel ferries (or warships!) as they glide past the many bars and restaurants that line its streets. The area between Clarence Pier, replete with its nostalgic Wimpy restaurant, and The Point is the most historic part of the city and contains the majority of its remaining early defences.

Walk a section of the Solent Way

This two-kilometre walk from the southern tip of the island to The Point along a stretch of the Solent Way, is packed with interest and great pit stops. Start at Southsea Castle (free entry; open March–October), once part of Henry VIII’s ambitious coastal defence system and where he watched the sinking of his favourite ship the Mary Rose. Within the outer bailey there is a working lighthouse and steps up to the ramparts. The views from the roof of the keep stretch across The Solent to the Isle of Wight with Spitbank Fort, a private island with a premium hotel, in the foreground. Recently a microbrewery has been set up within the walls of the castle and during the summer a champagne bar serves ‘bubbles on the barracks’. Walk north-west along the promenade to the small, but interesting, Blue Reef Aquarium, which is a good stop for the kids, before continuing along this surprisingly undeveloped stretch of Portsmouth Harbour. Inland, Southsea Common’s Portsmouth Naval Memorial, which is dedicated to around ten thousand sailors of World War I and almost fifteen thousand of World War II, is a prominent landmark. Next up is Southsea Hoverport, which houses the only commercial passenger hovercraft service still operating in the UK – it takes just ten minutes to cross The Solent to the Isle of Wight; then Clarence Pier, which has many rides and arcades.

Further north, Spur Redoubt marks the start of the outer fortifications of Portsmouth. A narrow passage, known as a sally port, through the ramparts is the route Nelson took to avoid the supportive crowds on his way to board HMS Victory for the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. His statue stands where he took his last steps on dry land. This part of the seafront would also have been lined with bathing machines – small, walled, wooden carts which were rolled out into the sea so people could take a dip without being seen. The walk continues to a large, paved area with lots of benches where thousands of people gathered to welcome the Royal Navy back after the Falklands War, then on to the Tudor-era Square Tower, one of Portsea’s oldest fortifications, and the rest of The Point. This walk is part of the Solent Way, a ninety-six-kilometre footpath along the Hampshire coast, that links Milford on Sea with Emsworth Harbour.

Whale Island open day

A small island in Portsmouth Harbour that is home to HMS Excellent, the oldest shore establishment, known as a ‘stone frigate’, in the Royal Navy. It is the headquarters of the Royal Navy and its most senior officer, the First Sea Lord, is stationed here. Originally constructed with the aid of prisoners from the Napoleonic Wars using material dredged from Portsmouth Harbour during the construction of the dockyards, it is largely a reclaimed island (with a high point of eleven metres) connected to Portsea Island via a road bridge. Before World War II Whale Island was the site of the Royal Navy’s zoo. It housed polar bears, lions and elephants amongst many other exotic creatures. The zoo was started as a place to house animals presented as official gifts to ships or those adopted as mascots. Today the site of the zoo is a garden with a small cemetery containing the remains of many animals. The island is also the home of the gun carriage that carries the coffin in British state funerals. As an active naval base, the island is generally closed to the public but opens on Heritage Open Days.