I made a circuit of Portsmouth Harbour staying as close to the shoreline as possible. (For other rides in this favourite area of mine see here.)
I parked free at the Portsbridge car park beside the A3 at Hilsea, and cycled anticlockwise, via Portchester Castle, the Wicor Shore, the Cams Hall 'Peninsula', Salterns Fareham, then inland along the excellent Gosport busway (the RN Armaments Depot blocks access to the shore for this bit), back to the shore at Hardway, Gosport Ferry over to the East side of the Harbour, then NCN22 back to the start. Two bits of advice. First, the shore paths may be busy with locals and visitors, so preferably avoid at 'high season' and weekends, and be prepared to give way to pedestrians and dismount and walk if necessary. Second, at high tide, some stretches may be under water (as you can see from the photos), so check tide times.
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| Portsbridge car park (free at the time of writing) |
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| Cycle paths near Hilsea Lido |
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| You can cycle through the Lakeside North Harbour Business Park when it is open (seems weekdays only) |
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| Lakeside North Harbour Business Park |
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| There is some nice infrastructure in the Business Park |
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| You follow NCN236 beside the busy A27 (here at Paulsgrove) |
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| Shore side path to Portchester Castle |
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| Looking back to the Trafalgar shipyard, with the 'white cliff' of Portsdown behind |
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| Portchester Castle |
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| Shoreside path at Portchester Castle |
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| The sea laps the path at high tide |
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| View across the the RN Dockyard (aircraft carrier alongside) |
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| Take care at this blind corner! (seriously, best walk this bit) |
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| Shoreside park at Portchester |
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| Distant views across the Harbour to Portsmouth |
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| The path has recently been improved in places |
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| Salt Cafe on the Wicor Shore (my bike was nearly cut off by the tide whilst I enjoyed lunch at the excellent cafe!) |
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| Path around Cams Hall 'peninsula' golf course |
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| Railway Viaduct over the Wallington River, Fareham |
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| Shoreside path near Salterns Quay (prone to flooding at high tide) |
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| Salterns Quay park |
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| Innovative Fareham busway (along a disused railway) |
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| The busway allows bikes, but (unusually) excludes pedestrians |
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| I believe these are rails of the old tramway used to convey ammunition from the RN Armaments Depots to ships at Priddy's Hard |
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| Not wise to explore beyond the fence! |
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| Path follow old tramway (Fort Elson perimeter wire) |
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| Rejoin the shoreside near Hardway |
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| Harbour view near Hardway |
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| There are many boatyards hereabouts |
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| Hardway slipway park |
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| Shoreside path beside new flats at Hardway |
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| The path goes through the Explosion Museum of Naval Firepower, home to some historic RN weaponry |
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| Millennium Bridge over Forton Lake into Gosport |
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| Former Clarence RN Dockyard, now, inevitably, apartments, shops, marina etc |
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| Carrier from Gosport |
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| Gosport Ferry cycle storage |
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| Tipner Lake Sea Wall path |
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