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Home > Beach Guide > Hillhead |
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Hillhead
Grouping these three locations into one report is quite logical because locals tend to use all three, well at least Stokes and Hillhead in different wind directions. The key is to see where the action is on the water. Take heed though, Hillhead is home to a number of elitist kiters who look down on intermediates and beginner's kiting in their backyard (yawn)..well they don't want you to take their line....anyone would think this was a major surf beach, not what it actually is, nigh on an estuary wind driven chop venue!! Windsurfers gave up on Hillhead and Stokes in search of more exciting locations, leaving it to the beginners and intermediates - maybe the same will happen with kiters.... If you agree or disagree with these comments you know where to click!
The yachties and dinghy sailors at Stoke Bay sailing club will confirm this, as they acknowledge that Lee on Solent, only a mile further up from Stokes Bay will have at least a force more than Stokes Bay. You can hazard a guess as to what it's down to - two theories often quoted, one, which is pretty logical, is that Lee is right at the end of the Solent "funnel" - if you look at a chart and draw a line along the prevailing S Westerly from the Needles you get to Lee - so as the wind comes down the Solent it is channeled and accelerated, the other is that there is so much tarmac on the old navy airfields (soon to be home to asylum seekers) is that these heat up and draw the air in.
Windsurfing happens all along at the three "beaches" - there are quite a few car parks, all pay n'display. Stokes Bay, at the Lee end is good if the wind comes more from the East, as well as windsurfers, Stokes will be used by kiters also in an Easterly. Unlike most Southern locations, the tide does not go out too far, so that is an added bonus. In Gosport you'll find Andy Biggs shop, and at Hillhead you'll see some of the high end kiting kit being used - so even if you feel inadequate at kiting at least take a look at the kit being used, far better than any magazine review. As ever, in the summer months, you'll be fighting for car parking space with day trippers - but mid week later afternoons and in the evenings, whilst the sea breeze still holds, many locals will be out at these spots. In a nutshell, that's what it's about here - if you're local to the area, living in and around Southampton, then you can get out on the water very quickly - for others traveling from further afield, then the likes of Hayling are more attractive. There are no major currents to worry about, even though the Solent has a veritable and infamous number of navigational hazards for yachts, these do not affect planing windsurfers and kites. Classic days to visit and sail here are when the HOYA Round the Island race takes place, the largest single yacht race in the UK - the yachts en mass come through the Eastern approaches of the Solent from midday onwards and it's quite a spectacle, any day during Cowes week, and of course the Tall Ships Weekend, though car parking is an absolute nightmare!
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One thing is for sure Lee on Solent and Hillhead get a much better seabreeze
than may other locations - when running a number of weather stations
around the UK coast, Lee on Solent consistently had stronger seabreezes,
and was on par with Worthing, quite simply there is no debating this,
though I no longer have the data!
