Gosport Marina is situated on the south coast of England, on the eastern side of The Solent, close to the entrance and on the west side of Portsmouth Harbour. It is a large-scale modern marina with ample shore facilities opposite the historic naval dockyards of Portsmouth.

Located within the protected natural harbour, the marina provides good protection. Outer berths can be somewhat subject to wash from the heavily trafficked waterway. Safe access is available night or day, at any state of the tide and in all reasonable conditions.

As the marina accommodates visitors in slots freed up by absent resident berth-holders; it is advisable to make contact in advance of any intended stay.

Keyfacts for Gosport Marina

Position and approaches

Haven position

50° 47.893' N, 001° 6.985' W

This is midway between the head of the outer jetty and the northern dolphin with the marina entrance.

What is the initial fix?

This is the commencement of the Portsmouth Small Boat Channel. It runs for just under ¾ of a mile between the outer 4 Bar Buoy, QR, and Ballast Pile, Fl.R.2.5s, and is approximately 50 metres wide throughout its length.

What are the key points of the approach?

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What's the story here?

Gosport Marina is a large-scale facility situated on a peninsula on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour. Located about a ½ mile inside the entrance and on the south side of Cold Harbour, it's positioned directly opposite the City of Portsmouth. Premier Marinas operate the marina and offers berthing, boat storage, and dry stack services.




The marina features 519 wet berths, 80 dry stack berths, and 26 swinging moorings. It can accommodate vessels of up to 22–25 metres in overall length (LOA), and most berths support a draft of up to 2.5 metres. Some deep-water and hammerhead berths can host yachts up to 29 metres. While most of the marina maintains a depth of up to 2.5 metres, the south/southwest side is considerably shallower, with depths ranging from 0.2 to 0.6 metres at low tide.

Daily Visitor Berthing [2025] (Excluding electricity):

• • £4.35 per meter, per night for boats between 8m and 12.5m LOA


• • £4.85 per meter, per night for boats between 12.6m and 16m LOA


• • £5.10 per meter, per night for boats between 16.1m and 20m LOA


• • £6.35 per meter, per night for boats between 20.1m and 24m LOA


• • £7.50 per meter, per night for boats between 24.1m and 34m LOA


• • Boats over 34m in length are priced on application

There is a minimum charge based on an 8m length for visitor berthing. An overnight stay runs from midday to midday. The charges include free Premier WiFi for up to three devices. A credit of £10.00 for electricity is included per stay, regardless of the length of the stay. Wide-beamed boats (those with a beam greater than the standard for their length) may be charged at 1.5 times the published rate.





However, Gosport Marina does not have designated visitor berths and guests are accommodated in vacant berths of resident holders. It is therefore recommended to arrange berthing in advance by contacting the marina on Ch. 80 [Gosport Marina], +44(0)23 9252 4811, gosport@premiermarinas.com. The Marina Reception is open 24 hours a day.

How to get in?

Coastal guidance, tidal guides, waypoints, and pilotage are available in Navigating Portsmouth Harbour . The Eastern Approaches to the Solent covers southern approaches, while inshore east/west approach guidance can be found in Southampton Water to Chichester Harbour . Continue along the harbour from the head of the Boat Channel, reach the Ballast Bank mark, and proceed for a ¼ mile to the marina's 250-metre-wide entrance on the western shore.




The marina is protected on its southern side by a breakwater that extends 100 metres from the south entrance point and a 600-metre-long pile pier sweeping around from the north shore.




Within this is a 400-metre floating breakwater that sweeps around the marina. By night, the floating breakwater exhibits lights from its northern, 2F.R (vert), and southern ends, 2F.G(vert).




In the middle of the entrance, between the heads of the outer jetties, are two dolphins. By night, the Boat Channel's direction light is exhibited from the southernmost of the two dolphins.




Berth as directed by the marina office. Vessels assigned berths on pontoons northwestern 'J' 'K' 'L' 'M' as well as 'I' 'H' 'G' 'F' 'E' and the northern side of 'D', all behind the breakwater, should proceed northward between the floating breakwater and the outer jetty. Pontoons 'A' 'B' 'C' 'D' are accessed between the breakwater extending from the southern entrance point and the southern end of the breakwater.

Why visit here?

Gosport, often spelt Goseporte, Gozeport, Gosberg, Godsport, derives its name from Old English words dating back to Saxon times: gos, meaning goose, and port, meaning market or trading post, combined to mean 'goose town'. It probably refers to either the presence of wild geese in the area, the sale of geese at local markets, or the fact that wild geese congregated there. Historically marshy, the area was known for its migratory geese, which fed on the tidal shores, and locals likely caught and sold them for food.




Although Gosport most likely originated as a fishing hamlet, the name refers to a market town rather than a harbour, and there is a record of Gosport in the Domesday Book. The area now occupied by the town was part of the manor of Alverstoke, which was a central village and the main settlement in the area at that time. Domesday states that St. Swithun's monastery in Winchester owned the land, and the 'villeins' of Alverstoke were 'farming' or leasing the manor during the Domesday Survey in 1086. The Normans nevertheless did establish the first fortification on the Gosport peninsula: a motte and bailey castle near the village of Rowner, where the River Alver flows toward the Solent. This strategic site, located near Stokes Bay, offered a vantage point with broad visibility over the Solent, Lee-on-the-Solent, Stokes Bay, and the Isle of Wight.




The earliest reference to Gosport by name dates back to 1241, when 'Goseport' was recorded in the Curia Regis Rolls. In the thirteenth century, the bishops of Winchester established several new towns in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, including New Alresford, Overton, and Newtown in Hampshire, as well as Newtown on the Isle of Wight. There does not appear to be a grant of a market charter for Gosport during this period, and the new town did not attain borough status. It is uncertain whether it ever achieved success in the medieval period, as it would have faced stiff competition from towns such as Portsmouth, which had a charter across the harbour, Fareham to the north, and Titchfield to the northwest.




Nevertheless, in 1302, Gosport, along with Portsmouth, was called upon by Edward I to provide a ship for his campaign against the Scots. This request was typically made to recognised ports and included places such as Southampton, Hamble, St Helens, and the port of Brading on the Isle of Wight. This showed that a well-established maritime tradition existed at Gosport by that time. A 1341 survey of the manor of Alverstoke recorded that there were 'formerly fifteen ships and that there were no traders – all the occupiers were employed in agriculture'. In the mid-sixteenth century, John Leland described Gosport as 'a little village of fishermen' with a small chapel that most likely dated back to Norman times. However, this was all set to change, as Portsmouth overlooked it on the other side of the harbour.




During the sixteenth century, as shipbuilding expanded in the Royal Navy's dockyards, Gosport rapidly grew into a naval satellite town offering auxiliary services. An ironworks was established in the town, and shipbuilding activity increased; consequently, Gosport became home to many workers from Portsmouth's dockyard. Other industries, such as rope-making, also developed, and the town became an important victualling station.




Gosport's strategic role in defending Portsmouth Harbour was recognised as early as the fifteenth century, when two towers—one on each side of the harbour mouth—were built in 1418. A blockhouse and bulwark were established on the Gosport side of the harbour in 1540, featuring an iron chain stretched between the towers, which could be raised across the harbour entrance to block enemy ships. Landward earthwork defences surrounding the town were added by the 1720s, effectively restricting access and hindering transport routes. During the Georgian period, in the 1750s, these walls were rebuilt, expanded, and extended; further modifications were made in response to the threat of a French invasion in 1779.




The economy further accelerated during the eighteenth century when certain naval functions were relocated from Portsmouth. In 1746, work began on the Royal Naval Hospital at Haslar, which, upon completion in 1860, became the largest brick-built building in the country. In 1752, the navy established a cooperage and brewery at Weevil Yard in Gosport, and in 1757, the Royal Ordnance Depot moved to Priddy's Hard.




Between 1828 and 1832, it was upgraded to serve as the navy's main victualling and fuel depot and was renamed the Royal Clarence Yard in honour of the Duke of Clarence. It remained in service until the 1980s.




By 1860, the Gosport Lines were armed with 58 guns. For example, No. 1 Bastion had 14 guns mounted in brick-lined emplacements that fired over the parapet. The ramparts were extended as the town's role in victualling and armaments manufacturing expanded to the north of the centre.




Throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, concerns about a French invasion persisted, leading to the construction of forts around Portsmouth Harbour to defend against landward attacks. These included Forts Elson, Brockhurst, Rowner, and Grange to the west of Gosport. Additionally, four 'Palmerston' sea forts, completed in the eastern approaches to The Solent by 1878, contributed to making the combined Gosport and Portsmouth area the most heavily defended position in the world.




Gosport was heavily bombed during the Second World War, which created opportunities for redevelopment in the historic centre of the town. The townscape of Gosport underwent significant alterations when large blocks of buildings, many of which were extensively bomb-damaged, were demolished, and several new roads were constructed through previously built-up areas.




During this period, the town's heavy reliance on the navy led to significant economic issues. As the British Empire declined, Portsmouth's shipbuilding employment dropped from 46% of the workforce in 1951 to 14% in 1966, sharply reducing the economic activity that supported Gosport. Ultimately, when Portsmouth dockyard closed in the early 1980s, most of the naval and military facilities on the Gosport side had long been vacated, leaving behind empty sites.




Today, the twentieth-century expansion of Gosport and Fareham has almost entirely merged the two settlements. Gosport still maintains some of its naval heritage with sites like HMS Sultan, a Naval Armament Supply Facility, and a Helicopter Repair base. Many of the fortifications and naval installations have been reopened as museums, making the three local deep-water marinas very appealing to both young and old boaters.




The Royal Navy Submarine Museum features exhibits such as Holland 1, the Royal Navy's first submarine, and the Second World War submarine HMS Alliance. The Royal Navy's former armaments depot at Priddy's Hard is now home to 'Explosion! - Museum of Naval Firepower', where visitors can learn about the weapons used by the Royal Navy. The Museum of Diving, situated in a former Victorian Gun Battery, showcases one of the finest collections of military, commercial, and recreational diving equipment in Europe. There are many museums scattered around Gosport, and for those seeking more naval history, a quick five-minute ferry ride across the harbour takes you to HMS Victory, The Mary Rose, HMS Warrior, and the National Museum of the Royal Navy at Portsmouth's Historic Dockyard.




Alternatively, Portsmouth's Gunwharf Quays offers outlet shopping, restaurants, a cinema, and the iconic 170-metre-high Emirates Spinnaker Tower, which can be ascended for a fee. Gosport Waterfront should not be overlooked, as it is an attraction in its own right. With views over the harbour entrance, there is a constant flow of yachts, ferries, and warships sailing in and out, with Falkland Gardens providing a great vantage point. Along the waterfront, especially within easy reach of the town's three marinas, there are various waterfront bars and restaurants to enjoy. Those with children who want more beach time will find that neighbouring Lee-on-the-Solent and Stokes Bay offer plenty of family activities that won't cost a fortune.




From a boating perspective, Gosport is easily accessible from the eastern side of The Solent, the east Wight, and Chichester Harbour. It benefits from excellent rail and road links, with good provisioning and plenty to keep a crew entertained ashore in case a significant low-pressure system threatens to disrupt a cruise.

What facilities are available?

All pontoon berths provide electricity and fresh water, free Wi-Fi and a first class ablutions block. The launderette, in the Marina Reception building, has coin operated washing and drying machines (£1 coins). The self-serve fuel bay sells both diesel and unleaded petrol. Please call on VHF Ch.80 before heading for the fuel bay. Gas is available from the Marina Reception. Premier has full recycling facilities onsite.

The marina features a chandlery plus a boatyard with numerous boatyard and engineering specialists in and around the premises. Gosport Marina’s Endeavour Quay boatyard is ideally equipped to carry out routine boat maintenance for a wide range of vessels and to make running repairs. Boatyard equipment includes a 180 tonne travel hoist, 35 tonne mobile crane, 45 tonne boat mover, a 14 tonne static crane, 14 tonne boat mover and a specialist marine forklift that serves the marina’s dry stack.

Gosport High Street is two minutes away with shops and banks. The Gosport Ferry provides quick access to Portsmouth Harbour railway station, terminus of the Portsmouth Direct Line to London. A ferry service to and from Gosport operates every 15 minutes.

Any security concerns?

Pontoon and bridgehead access is restricted and only available to guests with a key fob.

CCTV cameras cover berths, car parks, bridgeheads, and the shoreside. There are also 24-hour security patrols.

With thanks to:

Sophia Patterson Premier Marina.