Langstone and the Hayling Billy Trail: a waterside walk from Havant
Historic quayside pubs, an old mill, and a walking and cycling trail along a lost railway line.
Langstone is a small waterside village on the southern edge of Havant, and one of the most scenic spots in the borough — a natural place to start a coastal walk.
The village and its pubs
Langstone's quay looks out over the top of Langstone Harbour towards Hayling Island. Two Grade II listed pubs sit on the water: the Royal Oak on Langstone High Street and the Ship Inn on Langstone Road. Beside the harbour stands the Old Mill, once owned by the artist Flora Twort — where the engineer and novelist Nevil Shute Norway lodged in 1939.
The Wadeway
An ancient causeway called the Wadeway once allowed people to wade across the shallows from Langstone to Hayling Island at low tide. It is now impassable, cut in two by the deep channel dug for the Portsmouth and Chichester Canal in the 1820s. An archaeological excavation in 2006 dated the causeway to somewhere in the Roman-to-medieval range.
The Hayling Billy Trail
From 1867 the "Hayling Billy" railway carried passengers from Havant across a timber bridge near Langstone to Hayling Island. The line closed in 1963, and its route is now the Hayling Billy Trail — a flat walking and cycling path that runs south along the western shore of the island, with wide views over the harbour and its birdlife. Langstone Harbour is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, important for wading birds and overwintering brent geese.
Walking from Langstone
The Solent Way and Wayfarer's Walk both pass through Langstone, linking it westward towards Bedhampton and eastward towards Warblington and Emsworth along the coast.
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