Cowes Port Handbook 2014-2015 April 2014 | Page 46

COWES PORT HANDBOOK 2014 - 2015

Yarmouth Harbour

Tee Cee

Around the Solent
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Cowes is in the enviable position of being one of the UK’s most favoured
destination harbours, in the centre of the most popular sailing area in
the country. Its location at the heart of the Solent, halfway between
Weymouth and Brighton, makes other harbours easily accessible from
Cowes, particularly with an ebb or flood tide.
The Solent, a strait separating the Isle of Wight from mainland England, is
sheltered by the Isle of Wight and has a complex tidal pattern. The Solent
area has great ecological and landscape importance, particularly because
of the coastal and estuarine habitats.
The Solent’s sheltered natural harbours and inshore waters are renowned
internationally for their recreational value as an ideal location for leisure
sailing and other watersports. There are sheltered harbours and creeks for
novices and open water for the more experienced. Exploring the Solent by
sea is a fantastic way to appreciate the area’s landscapes and seascapes,
enjoy the fresh air and get some exercise!
Here follows a brief guide to some of the most popular ports, harbours,
and creeks of the Solent. Useful contact numbers for harbours and marinas
between Weymouth and Brighton can also be found in the ‘Onwards
from Cowes’ section on pages 42-43.
Picturesque Yarmouth Harbour, a unique blend of ancient and modern,
lies at the mouth of the Western Yar Estuary on the north coast of West
Wight. It provides a great harbour to visit with modern facilities and in
addition, it is very close, a couple of minutes walk, to the bustling town of
Yarmouth with its many and varied restaurants, pubs, and shops.
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