Leisure activities
Although largely residential, Hayling is also a holiday,
windsurfingWindsurfing or sailboarding is a surface water sport that combines elements of surfing and sailing. It consists of a board usually two to four metres long, powered by the orthogonal effect of the wind on a sail. The rig is connected to the board by a free-rotating universal joint and comprises a...
and
sailingSailing is the propulsion of a vehicle and the control of its movement with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to move the boat relative to its surrounding medium and...
centre, the site where
windsurfingWindsurfing or sailboarding is a surface water sport that combines elements of surfing and sailing. It consists of a board usually two to four metres long, powered by the orthogonal effect of the wind on a sail. The rig is connected to the board by a free-rotating universal joint and comprises a...
was invented.
In summer 2010, the Hayling Island Sailing Club hosted the 2010 World Laser Standard Senior and Junior Championships (27 August-5 September). The Senior championship was won by Australian Tom Slingsby, whilst Dane Thorbjoern Schierup won the Junior competition.
http://www.hisc.co.uk/news/news10/019_laser_worlds.htm
The Island also boasts one of the few active
Real TennisReal tennis – one of several games sometimes called "the sport of kings" – is the original indoor racquet sport from which the modern game of lawn tennis , is descended...
courts in the UK. Founded in 1911, Seacourt Tennis club is one of only a handful in the UK where it is possible to play every recognised racquet sports. The Racquets court itself was opened by Sir Colin Cowdrey.
Hayling Golf Club has been voted in the top 100 golf courses in the UK. A traditional links course, although relatively short by modern standards, the strong prevailing South-Westerly winds, fast greens, gorse bushes and traditional deep links bunkers make this a stern test for any golfer.
A funfair (Funland ) situated at Beachlands, is open year round, as is the East Hayling Light Railway which runs from the funfair to Eastoke corner.
The 5 miles (8 km) Hayling Billy Trail is a former light rail right-of-way which has been converted to one of many footpaths on the island. The Ordnance Survey Explorer 120 map covers the area and the local tourist information office supplies leaflets of local interest walks.
The Station Theatre hosts a variety of plays staged by the Hayling Island Amateur Dramatics Society,
Hayling Musical SocietyHayling Musical Society are an amateur musical theatre society based on Hayling Island on the south coast of England. The society has been in existence for more than 50 years providing entertainment to the communities of Hayling Island and surrounding districts...
, musical events and films throughout the year.
Hayling Island was also the birthplace and home of actress Stephanie Lawrence who starred in many West End musical shows, she was for many years close friends with Windsurfing inventor Peter Chilvers also from Hayling.
The island supports several churches of different denominations including 3 Anglican churches; St Peter's at Northney, St Mary's at Gable Head and the more recently built St Andrew's in South Hayling.
Local hotels, holiday centres, bed and breakfast accommodation, holiday homes and caravans for rent, all support this year-round tourist resort.
Transport
The Hayling Ferry is the most convenient way to travel between Portsmouth and Hayling Island. The Ferry is busy in the summer if the weather is good, bringing tourists and cyclists to Hayling. In the winter, there is a significant reduction of use, and the ferry service to and from Portsea Island is subsidised by the local authorities. This leaves the ferry under constant threat of closure due to limited resources.
Apart from the ferry the only public connection between Hayling Island and the mainland is a single carriageway road linking Northney to Langstone,
HavantHavant is a town in south east Hampshire on the South coast of England, between Portsmouth and Chichester. It gives its name to the borough comprising the town and the surrounding area. The town has rapidly grown since the end of the Second World War.It has good railway connections to London,...
. In summer in particular this road can become very congested rendering the journey between the bridge and South Hayling (the most populated area) anything from 30 minutes to an hour. A proposed Millennium project to create a new shared pedestrian and cycle bridge was unsuccessful.
Until 1963 when the line was closed,
TerrierThe London, Brighton and South Coast Railway A1 Class is an English class of 0-6-0T steam locomotive. Designed by William Stroudley, 50 members of the class were built in 1872 and between 1874 and 1880, all at Brighton Works. The class have received several nicknames, initially being known as...
steam locomotives pulled carriages along the 5 miles (8 km)
Hayling Billy line from Havant station on the mainland to a station which was located at the northern end of Staunton Avenue, passing through
LangstoneLangstone is a village near Havant, Hampshire in the south east of England, between Portsmouth and Chichester. It has good railway connections to London, Southampton, Portsmouth and Brighton, from the nearby Havant railway station. There are many large gated detached houses on the main road,...
where there was a Halt. The only remaining railway building, a goods shed, has now been converted into a theatre which is run by HIADS.
A tourist attraction — the East Hayling Light Railway — is a gauge railway that runs for just over 1 miles (1.6 km) from Beachlands Station to Eastoke Corner with aspirations to extend the route to Ferry Point within the next few years.
The nearest railway station to Hayling Island is
HavantHavant railway station is a railway station near Portsmouth.It is located on the Portsmouth Direct Line which runs between London and Portsmouth...
, just onto the mainland off Hayling Island. Alternatively,
Portsmouth and SouthseaPortsmouth and Southsea railway station is the main railway station in central Portsmouth in Hampshire, England. It is close to the Commercial Road shopping centre....
is another railway station, used for connections to
Bristol (Temple Meads)Bristol Temple Meads railway station is the oldest and largest railway station in Bristol, England. It is an important transport hub for public transport in Bristol, with bus services to various parts of the city and surrounding districts, and a ferry service to the city centre in addition to the...
and
CardiffCardiff Central railway station is a major railway station on the South Wales Main Line in Cardiff, Wales.It is the largest and busiest station in Wales and one of the major stations of the British rail network, the tenth busiest station in the United Kingdom outside of London , based on 2007/08...
.
Notable people
- Princess Catherine Yurievskaya
Princess Catherine Alexandrovna Yurievskaya , was the natural daughter of Alexander II of Russia by his mistress, later his wife, Catherine Dolgorukov. In her own family she was known as Katia...
, the youngest daughter of Alexander II of RussiaAlexander II , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the Emperor of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881...
, lived on Hayling Island for many years and was buried at St Peter's church in 1959.
Hayling oysterbeds
Oysters have been fished on the Hayling oysterbeds, at the northwest corner of the island, as long ago as Roman times, documented in town records since 1615. The oysters were actively farmed between as early as 1819 until the 1970s. Oysters became a delicacy that was exported throughout the country under the classification of “Emsworth Oysters”. Large complexes consisting of several pens separated by a series of
bund wallsBunding, also called a bund wall, is the area within a structure designed to prevent inundation or breaches of various types.-Liquid containment:...
and sluice gates were built to contain the oysters at varying stages of growth. Although large sections of the walls have since collapsed into the harbour, much of shape and scale of the beds can still be seen today.
In 1996, the oyster beds on the north west coast of Hayling Island were restored by the Havant Borough Council, creating a
wildlife havenLocal nature reserve or LNR is a designation for nature reserves in the United Kingdom. The designation has its origin in the recommendations of the Wild Life Conservation Special Committee which established the framework for nature conservation in the United Kingdom and suggested a national suite...
which has become an important seabird breeding site. The Design Council awarded this project 'Millennium Product' status for the renovation.
Paris To Hayling Charity Cycle Ride
The island is the home of the Paris To Hayling Charity Cycle Ride. This event, run entirely by local unpaid volunteers, was started in 1986 and has been run every year since. Up to 2008 just over £1,100,000 has been collected for more than 400 good causes. Entrants have come from 15 different countries on five continents.
Population
In the mid to late twentieth century, Hayling Island's population was known to double during the Summer months, due to a large influx of holiday makers and the associated tourism employees to accommodate. As domestic holidays have declined and Hayling's prominence as a traditional English seaside resort have followed in parallel, the population only swells by approximately 20%-25% (English Tourist Board estimate, 2001).
| Population |
Date |
| ~300 |
1086 (Domesday Book) |
| 578 |
1801 (census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
) |
| >1,600 |
1901 |
| >5,500 |
1950 |
| 16,887 |
2001 (census, usually resident population) |
List of settlements
- Mengham
Mengham is the largest settlement on Hayling Island in Hampshire, England. It is the largest shopping area on the Island, and has three schools and a Library. There is an old Church, St. Mary's toward the northern edge of the settlement....
- Northney
Northney is a village on Hayling Island in the borough of Havant in the county of Hampshire, England. It is on the north coast of the island, east of where the A3023 meets the shore of the island and north of North Hayling. Hayling Island marina is nearby....
- Eastoke
- West Town
- Sinah
- Sandy Point
- South Hayling
- Gable Head
- Ferry Point
Ferry Point is at the westernmost tip of Hayling Island in Hampshire, England, overlooking the fast tides of Langstone Harbour entrance. The Langstone Harbour Master has his base here....
- Mill Rythe
- Tournerbury
- Stoke
Stoke is a village on the island of Hayling in the county of Hampshire, England. The village lies on the Havant A3023 road between North Hayling and South Hayling. The village is closest to Langstone Harbour, opposite the city of Portsmouth....
- Tye
Places of interest
- Hayling Island Sailing Club
Located on an isolated sandy peninsula known as "Sandy Point," at the entrance to Chichester Harbour, England, the Hayling Island Sailing Club, was founded in 1921.The "old" club house was built in 1936...
, Sandy Point (AKA Black Point)
- Northney Marina
- Sparkes Yacht Harbour
- Hayling Billy Trail
- East Hayling Light Railway
- Station Theatre
The Station Theatre is a small amateur dramatics theatre located in the village of West Town, Hayling Island, Hampshire, England which is run for the people of Hayling Island. It was converted from the derelict railway goods shed into a 144 seat theatre by ....
- Ham Field
- Seacourt Tennis Club
- St. Mary's Church
St. Mary's Church, Hayling Island is a parish church in the Church of England in the parish of Portsmouth in Hampshire.-History:Built mainly in the early thirteenth century from imported stone, the church gained the addition on a timber porch in the fifteenth century and received significant...
, Gable Head
- St. Peter's Church, Northney
- The Kench, near Ferry Point
- The RNLI Lifeboat station at Sandy Point
- The Hayling Ferry
- Funland
External links