Keyhaven is located immediately within the Western Solent, to the north of Hurst Point, off the south coast of England. Positioned behind a protective shingle bar, it is a nature reserve of saltings and mudflats that dry to channels at low water. These areas host lines of private moorings that, if unattended, may be picked up by visiting boats. Additionally, it is possible to anchor just inside the entrance, and moderate-draft vessels can take to the bottom alongside the quay.

Keyhaven's small and well-enclosed channels provide good seaway protection but little air protection. Access is over a bar that almost dries at LWS. Although marked, the haven requires attentive navigation as it can be difficult to identify its marks from seaward, and there is no room for error.

Keyhaven is more suited to medium-sized yachts of a moderate draft. However, with the guidance of the River Wardens, larger vessels may be accommodated.

Keyfacts for Keyhaven

Position and approaches

Haven position

50° 42.720' N, 001° 33.279' W

This is the first deeper-water pool, with 3.9 metres, where the moorings are situated within the entrance.

What are the key points of the approach?

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What's the story here?

Keyhaven is a small, picturesque harbour on the western Solent, shielded by the shingle spit leading to Hurst Castle. This encloses a harbour and tidal creek within a 2,000-acre reserve of saltings and mudflats. It has a tiny hamlet with a small quay from which a handful of small open fishing boats operate. The lake presents a large body of water at high tide but dries to channels congested with private moorings at low water. It is also one of the few private rivers in the world, and charges will be applied in all cases to anchored or moored vessels. The area lies within the New Forest National Park and is surrounded by extensive nature reserves, offering a tranquil and scenic setting for visiting boaters.




Keyhaven has no dedicated visitor moorings, and arrangements are made on a case-by-case basis with the Keyhaven River Warden [VHF] Ch. 37/M1 or P1 or +44 1590 645 695. Visiting boats should expect to pay a daily rate of [2022] £10 for anchoring, deep water mooring £20, part-drying mooring £15, quay £30 per night. 2025 rates should be confirmed with the River Warden.




Visitors should expect space to be very tight and to have little in the way of air cover. The sweetspot vessel size for Keyhaven is 10 m / 32 ft. and 1.2 metres draft, bilge or lifting keel, even better. Vessels of this size and draft, or less, can freely come in on the appropriate rise and pick up moorings. Anything larger or deeper would benefit from the advice of the Keyhaven River Warden to see if accommodation can be made.





The primary focus of navigation for accessing Keyhaven Lake is to attain sufficient draft to cross its sandbar. The bar is situated outside and close to the northeast of North Point at the entrance. It is marked by small and unlit port and starboard entrance buoys. The depth on the bar can be taken to be chart datum, so tidal heights provided by standard tide tables will represent the actual depth that can be expected over the bar.




For most vessels, entry will usually be restricted to 2 hours on either side of HW. However, deeper vessels operating on the margins should come in on the rise, especially during Springs. Keyhaven benefits from a double high water and a long four-hour stand on or around Springs. However, during these times, the ebb whistles out of the haven quickly. As such, in the event of any grounding, a vessel will have a maximum of 5 minutes to get off, leaving little room for error. It is therefore essential to have no confusion about the tides. Those planning a visit here should ensure that the predictions relied upon are for 'high water' and not the 'middle of the stand'.




However, do not be discouraged if a vessel is larger than the sweetspot size, as it is well worth inquiring with the River Warden. They could not be more helpful in guiding our approach and made light work of rafting our survey vessel to a moored vessel. At 14 m / 46 ft LOA and 2.0 draft, this was at the top end of Keyhaven's capability. They rafted us up alongside a vessel on the second mooring inside, immediately within the entrance, and just above the first bend.

How to get in?

Those approaching the Solent from the west should use Western Approaches to the Solent for appropriate navigational guidance. Vessels approaching from within the Solent, from the east, should not allow Hurst Point light to bear less than 230° T.




This is to avoid the Pennington Marsh shallows between the entrance to Lymington and Hurst Point, which extend their shallow waters out ¾ of a mile from the shore. A seasonal yellow race mark (March - November) is moored in 5 metres of water, LAT off the Pennington Spit.





The entrance to Keyhaven lies at the head of a shingle bank that extends about a ½ mile northwest of the prominent Hurst Point light. The entrance has leading marks, but they can be challenging to see.




They consist of narrow red and white marker poles, the rear higher with a white top, positioned on the drying mudflats about 250 metres north of the entrance spit's North Point. The shoreline buildings and yacht rigs in Hawkers Lake in the background make distinguishing them from a distance challenging. Ignoring the moored boats in Hawkers Lake, located ⅓ of a mile to the northeast, is essential. These vessels often cause visitors to mistake them for the entrance channel to Keyhaven.






From the initial fix, the port and starboard buoys are ⅓ of a mile along the 309°T alignment, and the turnpoint into the entrance is about a ½ mile. With a sufficient rise in tide and a keen eye on the sounder, proceed on the approach bearing, looking for the buoys and alignment marks that are challenging to identify and Keyhaven's low-lying entrance.




Although small, the approach channel's port and starboard marks will likely reveal themselves long before the leading marks. Once they have been identified, continue on this bearing to pass between them. Closer in, the two leading red and white striped alignment posts will be seen marking the transit of 309° T.





Once the alignment posts are identified, keep them in transit and proceed to the buoys, marking the entrance between North Point's low shingle bank and mudflats to the north. The low sand and shingle promontory leading out to North Point should now stand out against the backdrop of yachts within the haven.



Once through the port and starboard buoys, prepare for a U-turn around the shingle spit. Slowly continue until a second port-hand red buoy, Keyhaven's only illuminated mark, Fl (3) 9s, that lies off North Point, draws abeam to port (west). Then turn hard to port, circling half a boat length around this buoy to steer south-westward and pass along the inside face of the shingle spit. Although steady as it goes is the order of the day for vessels of any draft, RIBS should note that there is a 4 knot speed limit inside the haven.





This leads to Keyhaven's channel markers, which are all starboard buoys. The best water within the entrance is found passing close to starboard of the three small green buoys located about 300 meters south of the entrance. The channel here has pools of 4.1 to 2.3 metres that gradually decrease to the quay at Keyhaven, which is only accessible by tenders at low water.




Keyhaven's chain of mooring buoys more accurately describes the centre lines of its channels just beyond these first starboard marker buoys. Therefore, from this point onward, after starboard marks No. 5 to 6, it is advisable to steer along the lines of private mooring buoys.




Keyhaven's starboard channel marks are set on the edges of the channel and often catch out vessels on bends where the shallows can curve out beyond a straight line described by a pair of starboard marks. By contrast, the mooring buoys are set in a centre channel with short chains, which best describes the channel's deep waters. It is, therefore, better to pass the mooring buoys off the bows of the moored boats. Likewise, never pass astern. Keyhaven's channels can be as narrow as 10 metres wide, especially in Mount Lake, and passing astern of a boat could place a vessel on the outside margin of the channel.




The mooring buoys also indicate the depth that can be expected within the channels. Mount Lake and the long Reach's orange 'hippo' buoys indicate a channel length with at least a metre LWS. The 'pull up' moorings in the 'short reach' and beyond mark the transition to shallower waters.




The only anchorage in Keyhaven is immediately inside the entrance. It is in a tiny pool between North Point and the first set of moorings, close to the spit on the port (west) side. After this, it is a matter of picking up moorings or rafting up as directed by the River Wardens.





It can generally be assumed that vessels of up to 10 m / 32 ft.m with a draft of 1.1 metres or less can freely pick up unattended private moorings provided no tender is attached and the owner is unlikely to return. Large vessels should berth as directed by the River Warden, who will most likely come out to assist.




At high water, you can expect to have 1.8 metres of depth all the way up to the Quay. The Quay's southeast corner is for loading and unloading, with a 20-30 minute time restriction. Vessels of 10 m / 30 ft. or less are welcome to come alongside the quay's northern face and dry out for the night. The southern face is for scrubbing.




Landings can be made at the Quay, which is accessible by tender at all stages of the tide. On the east side of the inlet, tenders can land on the shingle beach leading to North Point. English Heritage does not allow the 'Camber' channel or its jetty to be used by boatmen as this interrupts their ferry service. Those intending to visit Hurst Castle should land on the shingle beach and walk along the shoreline.



Hurst Castle Ferries will act as tenders, picking up boatmen and landing them either at the castle or at the quay, as required, for a fee. They can be reached on Ch 74, Hurst Castle Ferry.

Why visit here?

Keyhaven derives its name from the Old English words cū and hæfen. In Old English, cū means 'cow', while hæfen means 'safety', the origin of 'haven'. Therefore, the name means 'Harbour where cows are shipped'. Historically, it is believed to have been a transportation point for cattle and sheep to and from the Isle of Wight.




Keyhaven and the Pennington saltmarsh and mudflats emerged due to the protective arm of Hurst Spit. The spit formed from loose flint pebbles that had eroded from the cliffs further west. The protection provided by the natural barrier beach and the marshes behind has fostered thousands of years of human activity.




Keyhaven was a port as early as 1206, and a considerable salt industry developed here during the Middle Ages. The valuable salt was produced by impounding seawater in shallow lagoons, known as salterns, where it was then left to evaporate. Although the industry had died out in Keyhaven by the 15th century, it was revived in the 17th century when new techniques increased production efficiencies. These techniques included wind pumps that drew and pumped brine solution into specially constructed boiling houses. The brine was heated in large metal pans in these houses until the water evaporated, leaving only the salt. Alongside the boiling houses were a series of narrow docks constructed in the marshes, enabling sailing barges to import coal, which was required to heat the brine, and export the resulting salt. However, by 1865, cheaper mined salt from Cheshire rendered the process uneconomical, and salt production finally ended in Keyhaven.




Up until recently, Keyhaven was a fishing village, but fishing has gradually declined over the years. The village's main attraction is tourism, thanks to its history, nature reserve, and sailing. Much of the tourism is driven by the unique Hurst Castle, which guards the Solent from the southern end of Hurst Spit.




England was politically isolated in 1538 after Henry VIII divorced Catherine of Aragon. The resulting hostility between France and Spain aroused fears of invasion, leading Henry VIII to commence the construction of the Device Forts to defend England's southern coast. This chain of artillery fortifications, also known as the Henrician Castles, was financed by the proceeds of the dissolution of the monasteries and represented England's most extensive defence programme since Saxon times. Hurst Castle, which was said to have some stones from Beaulieu Monastery, was completed in 1544 and is thought to be the most sophisticated of the coastal fortress chain. Not only was the formidable castle perfectly situated at the narrow entrance of the Solent, three-quarters of a mile wide, but the strong tidal ebb and flow here would put any would-be invader fleet entirely at its mercy.




The castle's fortunes varied thereafter according to the difficulties of the times. It was modernised during the Napoleonic wars and again in the 1870s when enormous wing batteries were added to house 30 heavy guns. In 1873, a new east wing and a new entrance to the castle were built. In 1889, the magazine roof, staircases, tower, and rooms within were rebuilt, reinforced, and adapted for modern gun mountings. A further coastal battery was added in 1893. All these adaptations and extensions have made Hurst Castle the largest coastal fort in the world. It took on quick-firing gun batteries and searchlights during the Second World War. However, after World War II, Hurst Castle was finally decommissioned, ending 412 years of continuous military use. Like all of The Solent's mighty eighteenth-century fortresses throughout this period, Hurst was never put to the test.




During this time, it housed some unusual prisoners, two of whom are particularly noteworthy. Charles I was brought here on the last day of November 1648. He was held as its prisoner while in transit from Newport to Windsor prior to his trial and execution. In 1700, the Privy Council ordered that Hurst Castle be used as a prison for priests convicted of fostering the growth of Catholicism; known then as 'popery'. An unfortunate Franciscan, Father Paul Atkinson, was quickly convicted and sentenced to 'perpetual imprisonment' at Hurst. He remained a prisoner here for nearly 30 years, sleeping on a slab of slate, before dying in 1729.



Hurst Castle is now an English Heritage site open to the public. Two massive 38-ton guns were installed in the 1870s, along with early cannon and other weapons, which can be viewed in their casemates. Hurst Castle also housed several lighthouses, with the first of these erected here as far back as 1786. Today, this tradition is continued by a lighthouse museum that can be visited within its western wing.




From a boating perspective, Keyhaven offers a distinctive boating experience, blending some interesting piolatage, natural unspoilt beauty, wildlife, history, and a peaceful atmosphere. It is ideally suited to medium-sized vessels with a reasonable draft, working around the tides. However, larger boats can be accommodated with diligence and the river wardens' assistance. The remarkable Hurst Castle makes it a worthwhile destination in itself, and the charming little hamlet of Keyhaven should not be overlooked. The large body of enclosed water makes it an ideal location for letting youngsters go sailing, canoeing, and exploring.

What facilities are available?

Water is available from the tap at the back of the quay. Public toilets are available at the carpark beyond. Keyhaven Yacht Club reciprocates visitors from other clubs allowing them the use of their showers and bar which overlooks the haven. A local boatyard focuses on providing owners of leisure craft with a comprehensive and reliable set of boating services. It has a mobile crane for lifting craft ashore up to 40’ LOA and 9 tons weight, and offers winter lay-up facilities for approximately 120 yachts. Their slipway caters for vessels up to 45' LOA and 20 tons weight. The local pub provides very good hot meals.

Provisions, and fuel by jerry can, are available at Milford-on-Sea a mile or 30 minutes walk away. It also has more dining opportunities, a post office, a chemist and a bank that provides a cashpoint.

Keyhaven has no public transport services. The nearest bus services and train station is at Lymington.

Any security concerns?

Never an issue known to have occurred to a vessel visiting Keyhaven.

With thanks to:

Roy Plummer and Steve Wood, Keyhaven River Wardens.