Ashlett Creek is situated on the south coast of England, on the western shore and the seaward end of Southampton Water. It is a natural tidal creek with a small settlement that offers shallow vessels the option of drying out alongside its sailing club pontoon or the old public quay.

Located within the largely protected Southampton Water and dry for the majority of the tidal cycle, Ashlett Creek offers complete protection. Although very well marked and straightforward, Ashlett requires a high-water approach and careful navigation in daylight to follow its marks.

Ashlett Creek is the reserve of moderately sized, shallow-drafted vessels that are free to schedule an entrance or exit around high water.

Keyfacts for Ashlett

Position and approaches

Haven position

50° 49.704' N, 001° 20.205' W

This is the outer end of the Ashlett Sailing Club pontoon.

What is the initial fix?

This is set on the 5 metre contour about 300 metres southward of the south end of Fawley Marine Terminal.

What are the key points of the approach?

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What's the story here?

Ashlett (sometimes Ashlet) Creek is a small settlement on the western shore of Southampton Water to the south of the oil refinery, fronted by Fawley Marine Terminal, and to the north of Fawley Power Station. It is a natural creek that has a small and very pretty harbour at its head associated with its former and well-preserved tide mill. Adjacent to the mill is the popular 'Jolly Sailor' public house, a few dwellings and the Ashlett Sailing Club that has its pontoon on the southern side of the creek's entrance. The creek's channel and harbour dry out at low tide, making it accessible only during the top half of the tidal cycle. This means any vessel intending to visit must be able to take to the bottom, which is soft mud.




The club pontoon dries to 3.4 metres, and old Victoria Quay, by the mill, dries to about the same. A fair expectation of the water to be found on the club pontoon during a Neaps high is 0.76 of a metre (2.5 feet), and during a Spring high, 1.16 metres (3.8 feet). This makes Ashlett Creek only suitable for boats that can both take to the bottom and are of moderate draft. Vessels with a draft of 1 metre or more will also find manoeuvrability within the creek challenging with any tidal height of less than 4.0 metres. Moreover, the berths are very small and the club can only receive vessels up to 10.4 metres (34 feet), which would be the top end of its capability.




The area does, however, have the benefit of the double high water so that most vessels have from about 1 hour before the first HW through to 1 hour after the second HW. However, entry is strongly advised only on the remains of the rising tide due to the drying nature of the creek.




Visitors are welcome to moor on the southern side of the Ashlett Sailing Club's pontoon. The club pontoon has a flat rate, irrespective of length, [2025] of £8 for a short stay or £20 overnight with water and power included in the berthing fee. The club accepts catamarans provided space is available and other visitors are not obstructed. While the club works on a first-come, first-served basis, they are generally very welcoming. The club pontoon is usually available, but it is advisable to make arrangements in advance, especially for visiting clubs or associations.




The main club number for Ashlett Sailing Club is +44 (0)2380 891764, info@ashlettsc.com or contact them by their club web form . You can also contact the Pontoon Master, Dave Waters, at +44 (0)7789 502098 or Ian Graham at +44 7890 690976.




An alternative option is the town quay, Victoria Quay, located at the head of the creek, near the Jolly Sailor pub. It is a public authority facility that may be used as available. A charge may be levied, at the discretion of a harbour master if present.

How to get in?

Coastal guidance and pilotage are available for Western Approaches to The Solent and the run-up to Southampton or refer to Eastern Approaches to The Solent and the run-up to Southampton . Vessels converging on Ashlett should encounter no local hazards by following the clear marks of the Solent and Southampton Water, preferably staying close inside the mostly navigable waters within them and maintaining reasonable soundings to avoid commercial shipping.




The initial fix is set on the 5 metres contour about 300 metres southward of the south end of Fawley Marine Terminal, which makes a conspicuous sea mark for many miles. This is immediately outside the entrance to the Creek that is marked by small port and starboard buoys, which should be apparent from this point. Once identified, and sufficient water has been determined, it is a simple matter of following the Creek's meandering channel up to its head.




Navigation of the approach channel is simply a matter of following the provided navigation marks inward into the Creek. It is essential to keep to the marks, not to cut any of them. The mud is soft, but the sides of the Creek are unforgivingly steep.




The entrance's small port and starboard buoys lead into a starboard buoy locally known as the 'turning buoy' that marks a bend to starboard in the channel. Once this is passed, turn to pick up the closely spaced buoys, port and starboard perches, 'whities' as they are locally known, and follow them in. They are at this point unmistakably closely spaced, and the channel to the club pontoon is less than 400 metres.




As the Ashlett Sailing Club pontoon is approached, two channels present themselves. One close to the pontoon, one further out. It is essential to choose the marked channel nearest to the pontoon. The outer, and 'old channel' that meandered around a bank, has silted up in the past few years.





The Ashlett Sailing club pontoon is situated on the southern side, port side, of the mouth of the harbour. They request that visitors also try to get up along the pontoon as far as possible. Please pay a committee member in the clubhouse, or if no one can be found, deposit the fee, with a note of boat name/dates berthed, in the secure facility adjacent to the entrance to the male toilet/shower.




Those planning a short stay should be prepared to move quickly after the second high water, as the entire pontoon dries out very rapidly. Vessels staying overnight should also check the height of the tide they plan to exit on, to avoid being 'neaped' on the pontoon if the tides are falling.




Those intending to come alongside Victoria Quay should moor to the piles on the often slightly submerged concrete at the head of the Creek. The quay is a tongue of open area which projects into the head of the Creek, creating a slipway to the north and a small drying mooring area to the south. This is a public quay with no facilities and usually attracts no charges.

Why visit here?

The name 'Ashlett' is believed to derive from a combination of two words. The Old Norse or Old English word "ash," referring either to the ash tree or, more likely in this case, an ash 'stave', a wooden pole, and "flete" or "fleet," meaning a creek or stretch of salt water. This most likely originates from the Viking practice of planting an ash stave into the ground to mark or claim the spot where their ships first landed. Thus, "Ashlett" suggests "the place at the creek (flete) of the ash (stave)."




The 'hard' at the top of the creek would have undoubtedly provided the Vikings with a practical landing spot for small boats. It continued to serve as a landing area through the centuries, particularly because road transport remained challenging in this region for centuries. The earliest written record of the area appears in the 1086 Domesday Book, where it was noted as part of the Manor of Fawley, held by the Bishop of Winchester. The creek's capacity for mooring and launching boats was likely utilised throughout the medieval period, although there are few or no documentary references for this use. However, historic bollards recently found near the head of the creek date back to this era.




The Domesday Book does mention salt pans, which were key assets listed in its surveys for coastal areas, and would have been present around Ashlett Creek due to its tidal nature. Ashlett was a saltern site as early as the Anglo-Saxon era. By the late post-medieval period, its sea salt, along with that from other sites around the New Forest, was exported worldwide. The Fawley Parish Register of 1687 offers the earliest documented reference to Ashlett's salterns, recording a payment of two shillings to Thomas Flight of Ashlett Mill "for ye saltern". The first edition of the Ordnance Survey map in 1810 indicates two salterns in Ashlett. The main saltern, which was a sizeable operation by any measure, was 'Bound's Saltern' located north of the creek and east of the tide-mill pond. The second saltern lay to the south of the creek, where the sailing club's dinghy park is now. After centuries of operation, the salt trade ultimately declined in the mid-19th century due to the influx of cheap imported salt and the growth of salt mines in Cheshire. By then, corn milling became Ashlett's primary industry.




Mills, particularly tide mills in coastal regions, were vital for grinding grain into flour, meeting local demands and possibly producing surplus for trade. Ashlett's earliest record of a mill dates back to a 1241 mill mentioned in the estate left by Eva de Clinton, the widow of a Norman knight and owner of Cadeland Manor, to the Abbot of Titchfield. The record describes the transfer "of all the manor of Cadeland with mills and all its appurtenances" and a later reciprocal confirmation of ".. the aforesaid lands, possessions, mills, salt pans, court and all appurtenances". The next mention of an Ashlett Creek mill is from a much later period, in 1605. This is recorded in the Winchester Bishopric Pipe Roll of Fawley, which notes that "Nicholas Lambert pays a rent of five shillings for one corn mill." This ties into subsequent rent rolls that directly refer to a 'quit' rent of five shillings for Ashlett Mill. Therefore, milling in Ashlett would have been carried out continuously for about 700 years.




The creek's most notable feature today is its substantial five-storey brick mill. The well-preserved Grade II listed mill has a stone set into its south wall with '1816' and the initials 'T.B.'. These initials belong to Thomas Barney of Beaulieu, who was a merchant, salt maker, and miller. He owned the mill along with Ashlett's saltworks and saltings during the early 19th century. However, the 1816 date only refers to the current mill, which was a reconstruction of an earlier mill that stood on the same artificial causeway.




Corn milling became Ashlett's principal industry after the decline of salt making. Ashlett's mill was a tide mill, utilising its mill pond, located to the north of the mill, to retain the flood tide. After a good head of water had been impounded, the outgoing water turned the mill wheels. Ashlett's mill had two water wheels and two sets of milling equipment, which enabled maximum use of the ebb tide period. Tidal mills were expensive to build, but the power was constant and reliable, even though they could only operate for a limited amount of every tidal day. It was, nevertheless, hard work and led to millers having to work odd hours to synchronise with the tidal cycle. Flat-bottomed sailing barges of 100 to 150 tons navigated the tides to deliver corn for milling and to transport the flour away. It is believed that these barges were operated by as few as two men and a boy who could manage the creek with relative ease.




Victoria Quay was built in 1887 to improve the efficiency of loading and unloading the barges, and to celebrate Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee. By establishing a link with the agricultural hinterland and supporting fishing, the quay further boosted the creek's economy. However, by the 20th century, time and technological advances rendered the tide mill obsolete, as corn could now be milled more conveniently and cheaply using electric or engine-driven machinery. The mill operated until around 1910, when it finally closed. Similarly, as the road network expanded, the last great sailing barge arrived at Victoria Quay in 1932. Sensing the decline setting in, the ever resourceful Thomas Barney had sold the mill along with his two nearby saltworks and saltings in 1830.




The attractive red brick 'Jolly Sailor' next to the mill dates back to the late 18th century. It was originally a beer house during a time when anyone who paid the poor rate and the two-pound excise fee could sell beer. The Martin family served as landlords for several generations. Today, together with the mill's facilities, it has become a popular spot for 20th and 21st-century sailors who have inherited the creek and transformed it into a recreational sailing centre.




Bounded and shrouded by deep hedges and tall trees, and dotted with a handful of buildings, three of which are listed as being of special architectural or historic interest, Ashlett is truly a beautiful place. With the wonderful 19th-century mill and quay providing its dominant focal points, it offers a rare view over a Solent waterside hamlet of the last century. It is a place to sit back and take one's time, to enjoy it all to the theme of the water running through the mill's sluice, as it has done for almost a millennium.




From a uniquely boating perspective, Ashlett is the perfect haven for the shallow, moderately sized cruising vessel that can take to the bottom. However, it also exemplifies the special cruising opportunities these vessels provide. Tucked away in an unlikely position, between the industrial complexes of the power station to the south and the refinery to the north, lies this charming enclave of the unhurried past.

What facilities are available?

The club pontoon has power and water. Shower and toilet facilities, via key code, are available in the adjacent club building. The club has a slip and there is a public slip alongside the tide mill.

The Mill is open 7 days a week and serves food around lunch time. The Jolly Sailor pub has been bought by two keen cooks and may also be serving food. Basic provisions can be found at Fawley village’s convenience store, about 15 minutes’ walk up the hill. A newsagents, post office and take away will also be found here. Blackfield Service station, approximately 2 miles or 35 min walk, has the nearest fuel.

Any security concerns?

Never an issue known to have occured to a vessel at Ashlett.

With thanks to:

Marion Shirley S/Y East Breeze, Southampton. Tony Firth, Port Solent Yacht Club. Keith Guy-Gibbons, Moorings Master, and Ian Graham, Berthing Master of Ashlett Sailing Club.