Solent bound - a little virtual ramble
Jan. 10th, 2026 07:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dizzojayI’ve mentioned many times at this journal that my parents live on the Isle of Wight.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Island, it’s a small Island of about 150 square miles off the south coast of England. It’s divided from the mainland south coast by a narrow straight of water called the Solent.
My parents have lived on the Island since 1997, and I’ve headed over to the Island on average once a month throughout that entire time, so I seem to spend a ridiculous amount of time (and money) crossing that bloody water!
I’ve just booked my latest ferry crossing, and so once again the Island and, in particular, the Solent, are in my mind. Although I’m often sick of the sight of that stretch of water, (and don’t get me started on the ferry fares) there’s no denying the fact that it’s a fascinating place, in a lovely part of the country, with an incredible amount of history.
And so, as I’m sitting here at a loose end, I thought it would be fun to share some fascinating facts about the Solent.
The Island sits off the south coast of England with the Solent to the north and the English Channel to the south, leading out to the Atlantic in the far west.
As you can see from the image above, the Solent varies in width from around 5 miles across at its eastern end to as little as 1.5 miles at its western end.
That little headland that you can see that creates the really narrow part of the Solent is called Hurst Point, and there’s a castle on the end of it called Hurst Castle. My Dad can see that castle from his bedroom window!
No-one can say for sure how the Solent got its name, but what is known is that the first recorded use of the name was in the year 731.
Despite its seemingly innocuous appearance, the Solent is known for its very hazardous sailing conditions. It’s one of the busiest sea thoroughfares in Britain. As well as being popular for recreational sailing, and having multiple ferry crossings to the Island, two of England’s business sea ports, Portsmouth and Southampton, are situated on the Solent.
It has multiple currents driven by the English Channel and the Atlantic to the west, and it is known for extremely high and low, and rapid, tides. It’s also very shallow and requires constant dredging to enable bigger, ocean-going vessels to sail it.
Anyone doubting how hazardous it can be, should check Isle of Wight historical records which show that over 4,000 shipwrecks have been recorded in the Island’s seas. Remember, this is an island of only 150 square miles!
One of those shipwrecks was the Mary Rose, King Henry VIII’s navy flagship which sank in the Solent in 1545 and settled 15 metres down. In 1982 it was recovered and now sits in its own museum in Portsmouth.
Another fun fact comes about because of the Solent’s shallow depths and extreme tides. There’s a sandbar called Bramble Bank which emerges from the Solent ‘s depths for about an hour every year, normally around September, and it happens due to a convergence of low tides. And because we are British, and basically, bonkers, every year two local cricket clubs head out to the briefly exposed bank, and play a game of cricket on it!
Because the game has to be so short, the winner is decided in advance, and in true sporting fashion, the teams take turns in winning!
However, my absolute favourite Solent story was the saga of the new ferries.
Buckle in for this one!!!
In the early 2000’s, the ferry company that runs the Island’s westernmost crossing commissioned a fleet of newer, bigger ferries. However, after the ferries were built, objections were raised because it was feared that the greater wash from the ferries would erode the mudflats that border the harbour. These are home to lots of seabirds and other wildlife.
However, the one, most contentious, resident of the mudlflats who was seemingly most at risk were the gribbles.
I had never heard of gribbles before, but they are little wormy things that live in mudflats. Sailors hate them because boats are often made of wood and gribbles find wood very yummy. Think aquatic termites, and you're there!
So a massive back and forth took place between the council, the ferry company, local residents, the harbour authority, local envionmentalists, and in the middle of it all were the gribbles who were really quite oblivious of the whole fiasco.
In the end, it was decided that low walls would be built to protect the edges of the mudflats from the ferry’s wash. So finally, the launch of the new ferries took place nearly two years late, everyone was satisfied and the gribbles went on living their little gribbly lives.
Following that, Residents of the Island town, Yarmouth, one of the two harbours most affected, did what British people do best, and ripped the living comedy shit out of the whole experience. They built a giant Gribble statue to welcome tourists to the Island.
He’s known as the Yarmouth Gribble, and he’s a local celeb!
So yes, I may have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the Solent, but I can’t deny it’s an interesting and entertaining little dollop of water!
I hope you enjoyed my little virtual ramble - and look, we didn't even get out feet wet!!!
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Island, it’s a small Island of about 150 square miles off the south coast of England. It’s divided from the mainland south coast by a narrow straight of water called the Solent.
My parents have lived on the Island since 1997, and I’ve headed over to the Island on average once a month throughout that entire time, so I seem to spend a ridiculous amount of time (and money) crossing that bloody water!
I’ve just booked my latest ferry crossing, and so once again the Island and, in particular, the Solent, are in my mind. Although I’m often sick of the sight of that stretch of water, (and don’t get me started on the ferry fares) there’s no denying the fact that it’s a fascinating place, in a lovely part of the country, with an incredible amount of history.
And so, as I’m sitting here at a loose end, I thought it would be fun to share some fascinating facts about the Solent.
The Island sits off the south coast of England with the Solent to the north and the English Channel to the south, leading out to the Atlantic in the far west.
As you can see from the image above, the Solent varies in width from around 5 miles across at its eastern end to as little as 1.5 miles at its western end.
That little headland that you can see that creates the really narrow part of the Solent is called Hurst Point, and there’s a castle on the end of it called Hurst Castle. My Dad can see that castle from his bedroom window!
No-one can say for sure how the Solent got its name, but what is known is that the first recorded use of the name was in the year 731.
Despite its seemingly innocuous appearance, the Solent is known for its very hazardous sailing conditions. It’s one of the busiest sea thoroughfares in Britain. As well as being popular for recreational sailing, and having multiple ferry crossings to the Island, two of England’s business sea ports, Portsmouth and Southampton, are situated on the Solent.
It has multiple currents driven by the English Channel and the Atlantic to the west, and it is known for extremely high and low, and rapid, tides. It’s also very shallow and requires constant dredging to enable bigger, ocean-going vessels to sail it.
Anyone doubting how hazardous it can be, should check Isle of Wight historical records which show that over 4,000 shipwrecks have been recorded in the Island’s seas. Remember, this is an island of only 150 square miles!
One of those shipwrecks was the Mary Rose, King Henry VIII’s navy flagship which sank in the Solent in 1545 and settled 15 metres down. In 1982 it was recovered and now sits in its own museum in Portsmouth.
Another fun fact comes about because of the Solent’s shallow depths and extreme tides. There’s a sandbar called Bramble Bank which emerges from the Solent ‘s depths for about an hour every year, normally around September, and it happens due to a convergence of low tides. And because we are British, and basically, bonkers, every year two local cricket clubs head out to the briefly exposed bank, and play a game of cricket on it!
Because the game has to be so short, the winner is decided in advance, and in true sporting fashion, the teams take turns in winning!
However, my absolute favourite Solent story was the saga of the new ferries.
Buckle in for this one!!!
In the early 2000’s, the ferry company that runs the Island’s westernmost crossing commissioned a fleet of newer, bigger ferries. However, after the ferries were built, objections were raised because it was feared that the greater wash from the ferries would erode the mudflats that border the harbour. These are home to lots of seabirds and other wildlife.
However, the one, most contentious, resident of the mudlflats who was seemingly most at risk were the gribbles.
I had never heard of gribbles before, but they are little wormy things that live in mudflats. Sailors hate them because boats are often made of wood and gribbles find wood very yummy. Think aquatic termites, and you're there!
So a massive back and forth took place between the council, the ferry company, local residents, the harbour authority, local envionmentalists, and in the middle of it all were the gribbles who were really quite oblivious of the whole fiasco.
In the end, it was decided that low walls would be built to protect the edges of the mudflats from the ferry’s wash. So finally, the launch of the new ferries took place nearly two years late, everyone was satisfied and the gribbles went on living their little gribbly lives.
Following that, Residents of the Island town, Yarmouth, one of the two harbours most affected, did what British people do best, and ripped the living comedy shit out of the whole experience. They built a giant Gribble statue to welcome tourists to the Island.
He’s known as the Yarmouth Gribble, and he’s a local celeb!
So yes, I may have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the Solent, but I can’t deny it’s an interesting and entertaining little dollop of water!
I hope you enjoyed my little virtual ramble - and look, we didn't even get out feet wet!!!
no subject
Date: 2026-01-10 08:14 pm (UTC)I am looking forward to sailing there in the next few years!