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What's the story here?

Northney Marina is located in the northwest corner of Chichester Harbour, 3½ miles inside the entrance and on the north side of Hayling Island. It is owned and operated by Marina Development Limited (MDL), based in Hamble, Hampshire. The marina is accessed via the deep Eastney and the moderately deep Sweare Deep channels, making it one of Chichester Harbour's two marinas accessible to most vessels at all states of the tide.




The marina has 228 berths and can accommodate yachts up to 24 metres in length and 1.8 metres in width. It has good water depth in its approach channel, typically around 2.5 metres at Mean Low Water Springs (MLWS), ensuring suitable conditions for most pleasure craft. The marina maintains a set of berths reserved for visitors, but these are not permanently labelled as visitor pontoons. Rather, it operates a flexible visitor‑berthing system, in which specific berths are assigned on arrival, depending on availability, vessel size, and tidal conditions. Consequently, it is advisable to make contact in advance: Northney Marina (MDL Marinas) northney@mdlmarinas.co.uk, +44 (0)23 9246 6321, [VHF]: Ch. 80 [Northney Marina], Northney Marina Website .

Daily Visitor Berthing [2026]

• • Up to 12.5m: £5.55 per metre


• • 12.6m – 18m: £7.00 per metre


• • 18.1m – 24m: £7.80 per metre


• • 24.1m +: £8.50 per metre

Short Stay Berthing (Up to 4 hours)

• • Up to 15m: £13.10


• • 15.1m +: £19.30 flat rate

Typically, MDL visitor berths are metered, and shore power is charged separately, payable via your digital account or at the marina office. Berths should generally be vacated by noon on the day of departure. If arriving after 5 p.m., it is recommended to inform the marina.

How to get in?

Northney Marina is located about 3½ miles from the entrance to Chichester Harbour and is accessed through the Emsworth Channel and thence through Sweare Deep. The approaches to the entrance, with its tidal flow, are detailed in Navigating Chichester Harbour .





Proceed through Chichester Harbour's entrance channel towards the Fisher South Cardinal Buoy, Q(6)+LFl.15s, where the initial fix is located. The Fisher South Cardinal Buoy is located 400 metres north of Hayling Island Sailing Club, which lies abeam, and marks the head of the entrance channel.




This cardinal marks the junction where the entrance channel splits into the harbour's two main arms, the Emsworth and Chichester channels. Here, the Emsworth Channel continues northward, while the Chichester Channel branches eastward.




From the initial fix, proceed northward into the Emsworth Channel by passing to port of the small craft moorings north of Black Point and of the entrance to Sparkes Marina, and to starboard of the Fisher Channel Mark south cardinal; the NW Pilsey and N Pilsey buoys which mark the south-western end of the drying Pilsey Sands.




The Emsworth Channel runs north by northwest for 2¼ miles to the Emsworth south cardinal beacon, Q6 + L Fl 15s. At this point, the channel forks, with Sweare Deep leading to Northney Marina. The Emsworth Channel is wide, with a charted depth of at least 2.7 metres in the fairway, and is well marked by piles, all objects in the app, some of which are lit beacons. However, the helm needs to be attentive, as currents in the channel can reach speeds of 2 knots.




A ½ mile north of the Fisher South Cardinal mark is the Mill Rythe port buoy, situated off the Hayling Island side of the channel. The Mill Rythe buoy marks the southern side of the entrance to a drying channel that branches off north-westward to the Hayling Yacht Company .




After Mill Rythe, the Emsworth Channel is free of moorings. It is marked by red piles with can top marks on the Hayling Island side, green piles with conical top marks on the Pilsey Sands to Thorney Island, and then onward to the Emsworth south cardinal beacon.




At the Emsworth south cardinal beacon, the channel divides. The Emsworth Channel continues north by northeast for a mile to Emsworth , passing its isolated deep-water pontoon on the west side of the channel ½ a mile above. It then increasingly narrows and shallows, eventually drying. Opposite the town quay is Emsworth Yacht Harbour , entered over a sill.




Sweare Deep forks off at 45° to port in a north-westward direction. It passes around Hayling Island's north-eastern corner for just under a mile to where the entrance channel to Northney Marina opens. The marina's roof and forest of masts will be visible at this point. Enter Sweare Deep by passing the Emsworth south cardinal beacon to starboard and a lit port pile mark to port, Fl(2)R 10s 8m.




Sweare Deep, at least 10 metres wide, is well-marked with red and green half-tide piles on its drying banks, plus three substantial lit port pile beacons within the channel: NE Hayling, Sweare Deep and Northney. The first of these port piles is NE Hayling opposite the Emsworth south cardinal beacon at the entrance. All of these piles flash at 10-second intervals.




From the entrance, the channel has at least 2 metres up to Sweare Deep, Fl(3)R 10s, the second port pile marker, which is located ½ mile to the northwest. Between this and the final mark, Northney Fl(4)R, situated at the entrance channel to the marina and within the entrance channel itself, expect depths of 1 to 1.5 metres chart datum. At low water, the best depths are to be found by following the moorings on the north side of the channel, rather than tracking a straight line between the port-hand beacons.




At the Northney port-hand pile beacon, turn sharp to south into the marina's entrance channel, marked by red and green perches. Enter the marina via a short channel dredged to 1 metre chart datum.




Berth as directed by the marina office. The marina basin is rectangular, with pontoons extending west–east from a central spine. The shore facilities are all on the eastern side, closest to the access road. Pontoons are labelled A, B, C, D, E, F, G, starting from the north and moving south.




Each pontoon has numbered berths running from the spine outward, with odd numbers on the north side and even on the south.




Low-air-draught vessels may pass between Chichester and Langstone Harbours at high water. This can be done by continuing westward past the entrance to Northney Marina and passing under Hayling Road Bridge, which connects the island to the mainland. The bridge has an air draught of 1.3 metres, and the passage beneath it is 9 metres wide. Beyond the bridge, the ruins of the old railway connection remain, with a well-marked pass.




Once under the bridge, continue through North Lake on the Langstone side to connect with the head of the Langstone Channel. Although dry at LWS, North Lake has a depth of 3.7 in at MHWS.

Why visit here?

The settlement of North Hayling was first recorded as Heglingaigaen in 956 AD and as Northeneye in local court records from 1256, from which the modern name derives. Northeneye is of Old English origin, combining norþan / norþ ("northern" or "to the north") with -ēg / -īeg (which evolved into -eye, -ey, or -ea), meaning "island"—or more specifically, an elevated area of dry land surrounded by marshland, mudflats, or tidal waters.




During this period, northern Hayling Island was characterised primarily by low salt marshes and intertidal creeks along Chichester Harbour. The slightly elevated, firm farmland of Northney stood out as a clear "island" of dry ground rising above the surrounding wetlands. Consequently, its name literally translates to "the Northern Island" or "Northern Dry Land in the Marsh." Over time, the medieval spelling Northeneye gradually contracted to Northey, before settling into the modern spelling, Northney.

Unlike the heavily developed south, this northern part of Hayling Island, where the marina lies, remains relatively rural and sparsely populated. The harbour area as a whole has been used for salt production by evaporation of seawater since at least the Bronze Age. Situated on the sheltered north-western shore, the Northney salterns were among the largest in the region. Evaporation activity continued on the island until the late 19th century, when traditional salterns were superseded by cheap, mined rock salt, particularly from Cheshire.

One of Hayling's most significant archaeological monuments, the remains of a Romano-Celtic temple, was excavated at Council Field, midway between North Hayling village and Havant Road. Excavations also revealed evidence of subsequent Saxon settlement. However, Northney's human occupation dates back even further, at least to the Bronze Age, as it served as the landing point for the ancient 'Wadeway' that provided access to the island for millennia.




The 'Wadeway' was a raised causeway exposed for roughly three hours on either side of low tide. It offered pedestrians, horse riders, and cart drivers a passable route from Langstone Village across to the Northney shoreline, just west of where the marina sits today. This three-quarter-mile track was used as early as the Bronze Age; a timber featuring ancient axe cuts discovered at the Hayling end was carbon-dated to 1,000 BC. The route remained the primary connection to the mainland until 1824, when a deep-water channel called the 'New Cut' was dredged through it to accommodate barges for the Portsmouth and Arundel Canal (referenced in the Birdham Pool entry). The Wadeway was rendered obsolete that same year by the construction of the island's first wooden road bridge.




In 1867, a 300-metre-long rail bridge was constructed alongside the road route to carry the Hayling Billy Line. Built on timber piles driven into the alluvial mud—later encased in concrete—it featured a swing-bridge section to allow vessel passage. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, "Puffing Billy" became immensely popular with holidaymakers travelling from London to the sandy beaches on Hayling's southern shore.




By the early 20th century, Hayling Island was at the forefront of the pre-war holiday camp boom, well-served by the railway. These camps later provided crucial accommodation for thousands of military personnel stationed on the island during World War II, when the local pre-war population of roughly 3,000 swelled to more than triple its size via the Hayling Billy Line.




During World War II, the land and adjacent holiday camps at Northney were requisitioned by the Royal Navy to form HMS Northney I, part of a four-base facility across the northern island. The surrounding shallow mudflats provided an ideal training ground for landing craft crews, Combined Operations Pilotage Parties (COPP), and Special Boat Service (SBS) units preparing for D-Day and amphibious invasions overseas. The base was primarily utilised to test, commission, and train crews on various amphibious vessels. Specialised heavy support craft and landing craft tank (LCT) vessels were a constant presence on the surrounding waters as crews prepared for D-Day. A small stone memorial plaque honouring Combined Operations personnel stands near the marina entrance today.




Despite its heavy summer traffic, passenger numbers dwindled in the post-war winter months, making the railway uneconomical. The line officially closed in 1963 due to the prohibitive cost of replacing the decaying rail bridge, which was subsequently demolished in 1966. Throughout this entire period, Northney retained its rural character, anchored by a cluster of early farmsteads, particularly those dating to the 17th century, that took advantage of its rich agricultural soil and sheltered location. Much of the land was farmed under an open-field system until enclosure in the 1870s. The region remained predominantly arable, with extensive orchards surrounding Northney, and it remains remarkably unaltered by 20th-century urban development. Remarkably, it is the physical legacy of the historic salterns that would give rise to Northney Marina.




The marina area was excavated directly within the footprint of the original evaporation pans. Remnants of the old earth-retaining banks are still clearly visible around the marina basin today, alongside small patches of surviving salt marsh on the intertidal mudflats.




The boundary between Langstone Harbour and Chichester Harbour is generally marked by the present road bridge, the island's sole vehicle crossing, located about a 15-minute walk from the marina. Structural remains of the 1867 railway bridge can still be seen just west of the current road bridge (which replaced the original wooden bridge structure in 1956).




Traces of the ancient Wadeway also remain visible at low tide between the Royal Oak pub in Langstone and the Northney shoreline, marked by submerged oak stumps and followed in part by a modern public footpath across North Common. Further inland, the 12th-century St. Peter's Church sits roughly a 20-minute walk (one mile south) from the marina along Northney Road; it is the oldest surviving church on Hayling Island.




From a mariner's perspective, Northney is one of only two all-tide access marinas available to visiting vessels in the area. The modern facility offers complete shelter and updated amenities in a peaceful setting, with rich local history reachable just a short walk from the pontoons.

What facilities are available?

All pontoons have water and electricity, with waste-disposal facilities. Waste oil can be disposed of ashore near the marina office. The marina has excellent showers, toilets, a launderette and a clothes dryer. WiFi is available throughout the marina area. Diesel can be supplied through the marina office.




A travel hoist can lift vessels weighing up to 35 tons, and there is hard standing for up to 200 boats ashore. The marina has a modernised slipway with an adjacent access pontoon, providing easy water access for trailer sailors, along with ample space for car parking and trailer storage. There are good facilities ashore for boat owners wanting to carry out boat repairs or maintenance, with many marine-related tradesmen available. The nearby Shell garage has a mini market that provides some basic provisions.




The only way to and from the island from land is over Hayling Bridge. The nearest railway station to Hayling Island is Havant, just onto the mainland, 2 miles from Northney Marina. Alternatively, Portsmouth and Southsea is another railway station, used for connections to Bristol (Temple Meads) and Cardiff.

Dining Options Near Northney Marina
Langstone Quays Waterside Restaurant (Waterside dining located adjacent to Northney Marina)
reservations@langstonequays.co.uk | +44 (0)23 9246 5011
Address: Northney Road, Hayling Island, Hampshire, PO11 0NQ.

The Ship Inn (Historic waterfront pub with harbour views near Langstone Bridge)
Ship.Langstone@fullers.co.uk | +44 (0)23 9247 1719
Address: Langstone Road, Langstone, Havant, Hampshire, PO9 1RD.

The Royal Oak (Traditional 18th-century waterside pub overlooking Langstone Harbour)
+44 (0)23 9248 3125
Address: 19 Langstone High Street, Havant, Hampshire, PO9 1RY.

The Yew Tree Inn (Traditional country pub located a short walk south of Northney Marina)
+44 (0)23 9246 5391
Address: 111 Havant Road, Hayling Island, Hampshire, PO11 0PY.

Other Local Useful Contacts
Northney Marina (MDL Marinas) | northney@mdlmarinas.co.uk | +44 (0)23 9246 6321 | [VHF]: Channel 80 (Call sign Northney Marina) | Northney Marina
Address: Northney Marina, Northney Road, Hayling Island, Hampshire, PO11 0NH.
Itchenor Harbour Office: +44 (0)1243 512301 | [VHF]: Channel 14 (Call sign [Chichester Harbour Patrol])
| Harbour Office, The Street, West Itchenor, Chichester, West Sussex, PO20 7AW.
Hayling Rescue (for boats): +44 (0)7748 997105

Sea Start: +44 (0)800 885500

Environment Agency: +44 (0)3708 506506

HM Custom and Excise Portsmouth: +44 (0)23 8079 7000

Chichester Police Station: +44 (0)845 6070 999

Solent Coastguard: +44 (0)23 9255 2100

Hospital Chichester: +44 (0)1243 788 122

Dentist: +44 (0)844 5769 676

Any security concerns?

Never an issue known to have occurred to a vessel berthed in Northney Marina.

With thanks to:

Phil Walker Deputy Harbour Master. Photography by Michael Harpur.