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Portsdown Hill is a long chalk hill overlooking Portsmouth, in Hampshire, England, offering good views over Portsmouth, The Solent, Hayling Island and Gosport, with the Isle of Wight beyond. To the north lies the forest of Bere, with the South Downs marching in the distance. Butser Hill can be seen on a clear day. Southwick house nestles close by the north side of the hill, the HQ for Eisenhower during the D-Day invasions. The A3M motorway cuts through the hill. The nearest train stations (from west to east) are Bedhampton, Cosham and Portchester. There are many stories about real and imagined tunnels in the hill. Part of the hill has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Download high resolution version (2048x900, 277 KB)View of Portsmouth and Portsea Island from Portsdown Hill, UK. Photo taken by me 2005-06-09. ...
View over Portsmouth from Portsdown Hill. ...
A topographical summit is a point on a surface which is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. ...
The metre (Commonwealth English) or meter (American English) (symbol: m) is the SI base unit of length. ...
A foot (plural: feet) is a non-SI unit of distance or length, measuring around a third of a meter. ...
Hampshire (abbr. ...
Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the British Isles Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked 1st UK...
In topography, prominence, also known as autonomous height, relative height, shoulder drop or prime factor (in Europe), is a concept used in the categorization of hills and mountains. ...
Example of a topographic map with contour lines Topographic maps, also called contour maps, topo maps or topo quads (for quadrangles), are maps that show topography, or land contours, by means of contour lines. ...
Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. ...
The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using latitude or longitude. ...
Peak bagging (also hill bagging, mountain bagging, or among enthusiasts, just bagging) is a popular activity for hillwalkers and mountaineers in which they attempt to reach the summit of each peak in a region above some height, or having a particular feature. ...
This is a list of metropolitan counties, non-metropolitan counties and unitary authorities of England by their highest point. ...
The Needles, part of the extensive Southern England Chalk Formation Chalk is a soft, white, porous form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. ...
View over Portsmouth from Portsdown Hill. ...
Hampshire (abbr. ...
Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the British Isles Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked 1st UK...
View over Portsmouth from Portsdown Hill. ...
Satellite image showing the Solent, separating the Isle of Wight from mainland Britain The Solent is a stretch of sea separating the Isle of Wight from the mainland of Great Britain. ...
The coastline of Hayling Island. ...
Gosport is a town and district in Hampshire with around 78,000 inhabitants, situated on the south coast of England. ...
The Isle of Wight is an English island, south of Southampton off the southern English coast. ...
In Hampshire, England. ...
Near Beachy Head The South Downs is one of the two areas of chalk downland in southern England. ...
Butser Hill is a chalk hill, the highest point on the South Downs. ...
Dwight David Ike Eisenhower (October 14, 1890–March 28, 1969), American soldier and politician, was the 34th President of the United States (1953–1961) and supreme commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II, with the rank of General of the Army. ...
Land on Normandy In military parlance, D-Day is a term often used to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. ...
The A3 near Liphook The A3 is a trunk road in Southern England, connecting London to Portsmouth. ...
Location within the British Isles. ...
A Site of Special Scientific Interest or SSSI is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. ...
Portsdown Forts The forts on Portsdown Hill were built as a result of the 1859 Royal Commission to defend the Portsmouth dockyard (which is 8 kilometres away) from a possible attack from inland, as the development of rifled gun barrels made it possible for an invading army to land elsewhere, circle around to the top of the hill and bombard the city from there, rendering the existing Hilsea lines at the bottom of the ridge useless. A series of 5 forts were planned along the 7 miles (10 km) of the ridge. From west to east they are forts Fareham, Wallington, Nelson, Southwick, Widley. The line was finished off at the eastern end with Crookhorn Redoubt and Farlington Redoubt. In 1859 Lord Palmerston instigated the Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom because of serious concerns that France might want to invade the UK again. ...
View over Portsmouth from Portsdown Hill. ...
The Hilsea lines are a line of fortifications built to protect the Northern approach to Portsea, an island of the coast of England containing Portsmouth and its key naval base. ...
Fort Fareham is now a small industrial estate.
Fort Wallington has been largely demolished to make way for an industrial estate.
Fort Nelson has been extensively restored as an artillery museum run by the Royal Armouries. This article is about Fort Nelson near Portsmouth, England. ...
The Royal Armouries houses the British national collection of arms and armour. ...
Fort Southwick was for many years an Admiralty Research Establishment, sold in 2003 for housing. Fort Southwick is one of the forts found on Portsdown Hill. ...
Fort Widley is owned by Portsmouth council, hosting a stable and various community rooms. Tours run on summer weekends.
Fort Purbrook is open occasionally for craft fairs.
Guarding Fort Purbrook, the Crookhorn redoubt suffered from subsidence, and was demolished by 1876. The Farlington redoubt had only the ditches and gun positions dug, and was finally demolished in the 1970s. The tunnel between Crookhorn and Purbrook has recently been rediscovered.
Over fifty hectares of the south face of the Hill are a Site of Special Scientific Interest owing to its chalk grassland habitat.
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