What's the story here?

Marchwood Yacht Club is located on the southwest side of the River Test, which is entered from the head of Southampton Water, and lies opposite the northeast end of Southampton's Western Docks. The club is located a ½ mile north of the small village and civil parish of Marchwood that lies between Totton and Hythe and directly east of the New Forest.




The club actively welcomes visitors to its 'H' shaped pontoon. The River Test is dredged to 13.2 metres as far as Marchwood, and the club pontoon has a range of depths. The outer hammerhead of the pontoon has a depth of about 3 meters, while the inner pontoons can dry out at low water, with some areas having about 1.5 meters of water over soft mud at low water neaps. The pontoon can take about 20 boats, and alternative arrangements can be made to accommodate vessels on moorings should berths on the pontoon be overwhelmed.




Though not necessary, it is best to contact the club a couple of days in advance of any intended visit. Enquiries can be made to the Clubhouse on +44 (0)2380 666141. Yacht Clubs wishing to book a visit or regatta should use Marchwood Yacht Club's contact page to make arrangements. The overnight visitor fee is 2025 £25 per night per vessel, irrespective of length, payable by card at the club bar during opening hours or online. For short stays (normally lunchtime), the fee is £5. The maximum stay available is a total of 3 days. It is a club requirement that no boat should be left unattended overnight.

How to get in?

Coastal guidance waypoints and pilotage for the run-up to the River Itchen, along with river guidance, are available in the Western Approaches or the Eastern Approaches to the Solent and Southampton. Vessels approaching Dock Head should encounter no local hazards if they follow the clear marks of the Solent and Southampton Water, ideally staying close to the inner navigable waters within them and maintaining reasonable soundings to avoid commercial shipping.




Yachts navigating the six-mile stretch of Southampton Water should keep a listening watch for Southampton VTS, VHF Ch 12/16, especially near the docks, and yield priority to commercial vessels. A speed limit of 6 knots is enforced north of a line connecting Hythe Pier and Weston Shelf.




Break off from the above Solent guides and pass Dock Head to starboard, where the rivers Test and Itchen meet. Continue up the River Test by passing Dock Head to starboard. The River Test is dredged to 13.2 metres as far as the turning circle just north of Marchwood Yacht Club and 12.6 metres as far as the swinging ground at the top end of the container berths, one mile further. Beyond this point, the river shoals rapidly and dries up to Eling Channel and the well-sheltered Eling basin.




Continue past Town Quay for a further 1½ miles upriver to the club pontoon. Beyond Town Quay, the river is dominated by large container docks on its northeast shore and industrial docks to the southwest.



Amongst the latter is a large silver dome that will have been clearly visible from Southampton Water. This is the dome of the Marchwood incinerator that is located 300 metres to the southeast of the pontoon and provides a prominent landmark for its position.




Maintain a careful watch for ships manoeuvring off the Western Docks using the turning circle close northwest of Town Quay, or the turning circle close north of the club pontoon, whilst proceeding up to Marchwood. There is ample water close outside the 'Cracknore' port hand buoy Oc. R. 8s and a series of 'Swinging Ground' port marks should a vessel encounter a manoeuvring ship.




At high water, you can choose to leave the deep water channel and enter the Marchwood Channel, which opens to the south at 'Cracknore', to avoid ships and benefit from a slight cut. The depths of Marchwood Channel range from 2.3 metres to 3.2 metres after Marchwood Basin, and it leads to Marchwood Wharf.




However, above Marchwood Wharf, at its western end, it has as little as 0.4 metres LAT and is filled with Marchwood Yacht Club moorings, which a transiting vessel must worm carefully through. Therefore, it is advisable to simply stay close inside the port swinging ground buoys.



Berth alongside the club's 'H' shaped pontoon. The outer face of the hammerhead has 3 metres, and its inner faces have 3 metres on the upper 'D' end, 2.5 metres on the lower 'C' end at LWS. The inner pontoons' outer face has 1 metre, and their inner sides dry at LWS.




However, the inside of the inner pontoon can have as much as 1.5 metres at low water neaps over soft mud.





When rafting up, vessels should make sure to offset masts, as the tugs assisting in turning ships in the adjacent turning circle can cause considerable wash.




The clubs appointed 'Officer of the Day' will be delighted to take any questions.

Why visit here?

It is believed 'Marchwood' is derived from Old English 'merece' combined with 'wudu', making 'merecewudu'. This means 'wood where the smallage grows'. 'Smallage' in this context was an old term for wild celery, a plant believed to have grown abundantly in the area. Its first mention in the 1086 Domesday Book was as 'Merceode' where it was noted that its manor was held by Alwin who had received it from his father Wulfgeat in 1066.




During Norman times, the area was part of the hunting grounds of King William II, also known as Rufus, who stayed at a hunting lodge near Berry Farm. Later, the area gained a reputation for smuggling, with cargoes being landed at Cracknore Hard and transported to Exbury for auction. Beacon Hill earned its name in Elizabethan times when it served as an essential warning beacon that sent and received messages to both ends of the Isle of Wight. It was part of the national chain of beacons used to alert the nation that the Spanish Armada had been sighted approaching the Channel. However, it was Cracknore that saw the first development of the shoreline. It became the landing place where the Southampton ferry was established well before the Hythe ferry, which began in 1575. The site of the Marchwood Yacht Club, however, represented the first significant and nationally important development on these shores.




This was the site of the Royal Naval Armaments Depot that opened in 1815 as a gunpowder store. Like Tipner, in Portsmouth, the depot was a sub-depot of Gosport's Priddy's Hard. Priddy's Hard, now a museum, was first a fort and later an armaments depot for Royal Navy and British Army weapons, explosives, and other stores. It was the oldest of four depots forming the complex of Royal Naval Armaments Depots. Priddy's Hard could store 6,000 barrels of gunpowder, but it was necessary to disperse the gunpowder in case the depot came under attack. The Marchwood depot initially comprised three magazines, each with a capacity to store 6,800 barrels of gunpowder. It features a small internal L-shaped channel for moving barrels by barge and a centrally-placed Shifting House. This was fronted by a rolling stage, with a raised planked barrow way extending to a landing stage in deep water. An iron pier structure later replaced the rolling stage.




The depot closed briefly in 1850 but was reopened during the outbreak of the Crimean War. The years 1856-7 effectively marked the second foundation of Marchwood, characterised by a substantial increase in storage capacity. Four new magazines were added—three of 14,400 barrels and one of 9,600 barrels—along with protective linking walls. A 'Times' article from 1864 noted that Marchwood, with a capacity of 76,000 barrels of powder, was 'the largest magazine in the Kingdom'. The site continued to be used for munitions storage into the 20th century and suffered extensive damage during World War II, when some of the magazines were lost in an air raid. Around that time, in 1943, the Military Port was established less than a mile to the southeast of the Royal Naval Armaments Depot.




The Military Port was established for the assembly and launching of the renowned Mulberry harbours used to support the D-Day landings on the Normandy beaches the following year. It subsequently supported the occupying forces after the success of the landings. The port played a crucial role in the swift Falklands War of 1982, where expeditionary equipment and troops were quietly loaded onto ships for transit to the conflict zone. Initially, the port had one pier, but after the Falklands War, it was significantly upgraded to three main jetties. It is now the only remaining active military port in the United Kingdom. However, reports of a sale to a private operator emerged in 2010, but no firm decision has been made. The port continues to serve Britain's overseas military interests.




But that was not the case for the Royal Naval Armaments Depot, which by 2010 had been closed for nearly half a century. Stocks of munitions decreased after the war, and in the late 1950s, the Navy began reducing the size of the Fleet. Weaponry also became more refined, and the location of Marchwood was no longer geographically suitable. The site was finally decommissioned and closed in 1961.




From a boating perspective, the Marchwood Yacht Club pontoon provides an interesting and useful berth on the River Test. It is deep, accessible at all tide levels, both day and night, reasonably priced, and supported by a very welcoming club. Its location on a Georgian military site of national significance is a rare bit of history to experience. The two small lodge-like buildings, the office and guardhouse used by the Marchwood Yacht Club, date from the original development of the site in 1814. One building now serves as the bar and restaurant, while the other houses the Committee rooms. It is pretty uncommon to find club facilities that date back to the Napoleonic era. For those interested in shipping, there is no better place to observe ships closely when they are being turned in the turning circle off the pontoon.

What facilities are available?

Water taps are located at both ends of the central pontoon, but there is no electricity. Bottle banks and waste bins are situated by the main entrance to the club.




The club bar usually opens during lunchtime, from 12 to 2 pm on Saturday and Sunday, and from 8 pm on Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday nights, although opening times may vary. The club’s restaurant serves very good food and is typically open during lunchtime for light meals and sandwiches. In the evenings, it offers a set menu along with several daily specials. You can contact the restaurant on P: +44 23 8034 3094 or M: +44 77 0656 2583.




The nearest fuel bunkers are at Hythe Marina or Itchen Marine at American Wharf. Marchwood, about three-quarters of a mile from the club, has a small parade of shops in the village centre, next to the school. This includes a grocer, a convenience store, a chemist, a bakery, a post office, and some pubs.

Any security concerns?

The club grounds, pontoon area, and facilities are all secured with locked gates that can be opened using coded keypads next to the locks. The berthing ‘Officer of the Day’ will be happy to provide visitors with the code.

With thanks to:

Barry and June Parker, Marchwood Yacht Club.