Hampshire highlights: five beaches to visit

Buckets and spades at the ready – looking for a beach day without the crowds? Hampshire’s coastline is dotted with some lovely and lesser-known beaches where you can find your very own spot on the sand for the day – here are five of our faves.  

For families: Hayling Island  

At the eastern end of the Hampshire coastline, cross the Langstone Bridge over to Hayling Island where the beaches have held a European Blue Flag award for cleanliness and water quality for 33 consecutive years.  

Hayling Island has over 3 miles of shingle beaches along the south of the island which also expose long stretches of sand at low tide, and plenty of safe places for swimming, beach games, and picnics.  

Find out more about Hayling Island 

For natural beauty: Milford on Sea 

To the west of the county, the beaches of the New Forest are a mixture of shingle and sand backed by the beautiful New Forest National Park.  

At Milford on Sea’s Hordle Cliff beach, pretty beach huts provide the backdrop as a sand bar reveals itself at low tide for shallow and safe swimming. 

Find out more about Milford on Sea 

For seaside style: Southsea 

Southsea’s long stretch of shingle is enough to satisfy a full sun-filled day – as a well-kept secret, there will always be space for you sunbathe on the pebbles at Southsea or take to the water to sports like paddleboarding. 

Behind the beach, Southsea’s beach promenade is a popular place to walk, cycle, or skate and the green space of Southsea Common is home to beach volleyball courts, Southsea Tennis Courts, pitch and putt and Southsea Skatepark – one of the oldest and most iconic Skateparks in the UK. 

Find out more about Southsea 

For wildlife: Lepe 

There’s always plenty to watch at Lepe, whether you’re looking out to the Solent where boats and kitesurfers are sailing by, or inland towards the nature reserve with its meadows and woodland protected habitats for wildlife.  

The shingle beach sits within Lepe Country Park in the New Forest and as such it has excellent facilities including an adventure playground and coastal restaurant.  The Lepe Loop is a five-mile circular walk with views over the salt marsh and Beaulieu estate.  

Find out more about Lepe beach and country park 

For sports: Calshot 

Sandwiched between the New Forest National Park and the Southampton water, Calshot is a shingle beach lined with brightly coloured beach huts. 

At the end of the spit, Calshot Activities Centre is one of the south's biggest outdoors centres with rock climbing walls, a velodrome, and a dry ski slope inside its hangar and sailing and watersports out on the water.  

Find out more about Calshot Activity Centre 

Find out more about beaches in Hampshire  

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