Hayling Island 17 August 2014

When you choose the second smallest car park in Hampshire as a starting point what’s the chance of turning up on the Sunday and discovering it is double booked for use by stewards of the Hayling Half Marathon? Some manoeuvring and tight parking got us all in and eighteen men and one dog duly set off for a nine and a half mile Hike round Hayling Island.
The morning walk was from the top of the island down to the beach via the Hayling Billy Trail which follows the old railway track.  It looks across to Portsmouth, with its iconic Spinnaker Tower, down to Southsea and across the Solent to the Isle of Wight. The trail passes by some old oyster beds where there is an attempt to get the Oyster Catcher birds roosting again and from there you can look back inland to the fortresses on Portsdown Hill.
The beach’s constant breeze made for a slightly chilly picnic lunch and though the sea looked quite grey, one man who braved it for a dip discovered it to be pleasantly warm. A round of ice creams ensued, a team photo shoot and then for the afternoon part of the walk headed back up the island with views across to Emsworth and Chichester harbour.
 After one quick but heavy shower the weather turned nice again as we crossed suburbs and country with one interesting stop for a model steam traction engine being displayed.
Back at the car park a quick discussion led to us descending on The Ship Inn at Hayling Bridge to watch the boats and the world go by as we enjoyed the last of the afternoon sun with a well earned pint.
Thank you everyone who attended for making it such an enjoyable day – see you next month.
Write up by walk leader, Mark Wilson. Photos by Bill Fuller, Martin Fletcher & John Archard.

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