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. It is a great centre for yachting and is renowned as one of the most expensive waters to cross by ferry in the world. It is sheltered by the Isle of Wight, and has a very complex tidal pattern, which has greatly benefited Southampton's success as a port. Portsmouth lies on its shores. Spithead, an area off Gilkicker Point near Gosport, is renowned as the place where the Royal Navy is reviewed by the monarch of the day.

During the late Middle Ages, Henry VIII of England built an extensive set of coastal defences at each end of the Solent, part of his Device Forts, effectively controlling access to east and west. More forts were built on land and at sea in the 19th century.

Ten thousand years ago, where the present Solent runs was a great estuary in a wooded valley, the so-called Solent River which drained a large area of what is now central southern England. It ran from the west to the east, and opened to the sea where the present-day eastern end of the Solent lies. When glaciers covering the north of Britain melted at the end of the last ice age, the whole island of mainland Britain tilted about an east-west axis, submerging parts of the south coast, including the Solent. As sea level rose, the estuary of the Solent River was gradually inundated until eventually the Isle of Wight became separated from the mainland. This is thought to have occurred about 7,000 years ago. The process of coastal change is still continuing, with the soft cliffs on some parts of the Solent, such as Fort Victoria, constantly eroding, whilst other parts, such as Ryde Sands, accreting.

Remains of human habitation have been found from the prehistoric, Roman and Saxon eras, showing that humans retreated towards progressively higher ground over these periods.

Even today a bank in the centre of the Solent, Bramble Bank, is exposed at low water springs. This, combined with the unique tidal patterns in the area, makes navigation challenging. There is an annual cricket match on Bramble Bank during the lowest tide of the year - although it usually ends fairly quickly when the wicket is flooded! An interesting reference to this practice is found in Hansard, the British parliamentary record, during the debate on the Licensing Bill (Lords) in Standing Committee D, on 8 May 2003. In this debate the Island's MP, Andrew Turner, is discussing the problems of licensing when the event to be licensed falls between two authorities, and in a light-hearted way cites the example of the Bramble Bank cricket match. Link to the transcript (http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200203/cmstand/d/st030508/am/30508s02.htm)

Other facts

The Short Solent was a type of flying boat used by the RAF during World War II. It was a more advanced form of the Short Sunderland.

See Also

Southampton Water