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Hayling Island is an island off the south coast of England, in the borough of Havant in the county of Hampshire. It is twinned with Gorron, Mayenne, France.
[edit] GeographyHayling Island is a true island, completely surrounded by natural watercourses at all states of the tide. Looking at its north to south orientation, it is shaped like an inverted T, about 6.5 kilometres (4 miles) long and 6.5 kilometres wide. A road bridge connects its northern end to the mainland of England. A small passenger ferry connects it to the neighbouring island of Portsea where the city of Portsmouth is located. To the west is Langstone Harbour and to the east is Chichester Harbour. The natural beach at Hayling was predominantly sandy but in recent years it has been mechanically topped with shingle dredged from the bed of the Solent in an effort to reduce beach erosion and reduce the potential to flood low lying land. At low tide, the West Winner sandbank is visible, extending a mile out to sea. The coastline in this area has substantially changed since Roman times: it is believed much land has been lost from the coasts of Hayling and Selsey by erosion and subsequent flooding. [edit] Location and area[edit] Leisure activitiesAlthough largely residential, Hayling is also a holiday, windsurfing and sailing centre. Hayling has a strong claim to being the site where windsurfing was invented. Different courts in different jurisdictions have recognized different inventors, clouding any possibility of clear attribution. However in 1985, British courts recognized prior art by Peter Chilvers, who as a young boy on Hayling Island assembled his first board combined with a sail, in 1958. Intended to be steered by a rudder, it did not incorporate the curved wishbone booms of the modern windsurfer, but rather a "straight split boom". The courts found that later innovations were "merely an obvious extension". It is worthy of note that this court case set a significant precedent for patent law in the United Kingdom, in terms of Inventive step and non-obviousness; the court upheld the defendant's claim based on film footage. A funfair (Funlands) situated at Beachlands, is open year round, as is the East Hayling Light Railway which runs from the funfair to Eastoke corner. The Hayling Billy Trail is just one of many footpaths with attractive views enjoyed by walkers. The Ordnance Survey Explorer 120 map covers the area and the Tourist Information Office at Beachlands tel 023 92467111 can supply leaflets of local interest walks. The island supports several churches of different denominations including 3 Anglican churches; St Peter's at Northney, St Mary's at Gable Head and the more recently built St Andrew's in South Hayling. Construction of Northwode Chapel by the monks of Jumiéges, Normandy, began in about 1140 and this became the present St Peter's Church and now the oldest surviving church on the Island. It has been claimed that St Peter's three bells, cast in about 1350, have one of the oldest peals in England. The grave of Princess Youriesvsky (1890-1959) who was a member of the ill-fated Russian Royal family and who lived in North Hayling for many years, may be found in the churchyard.[1] St Mary's Church is a standard design of the churches of its era, but upon close examination the walls have been constructed from a mortar of local shells and beach pebbles. The churchyard features a yew tree that is believed to be over 800 years old. The grave of Scotsman George Sandeman, the founder of Sandeman Port is prominently featured in the north-east part of the graveyard. Local hotels, holiday centres, bed and breakfast accommodation, holiday homes and caravans for rent, all support this year-round tourist resort. [edit] Transport Due to lack of use, the ferry service to and from Portsea island is subsidised by the local authorities. This leaves the ferry under constant threat of closure due to limited resources. Other than the ferry, the only public connection between Hayling Island and the mainland is a single carriageway A road linking Northney to Langstone, Havant. In summer in particular, this road can become very congested rendering the journey between the bridge and South Hayling (the most populated area) anything from 30 minutes to an hour. Until 1963 when the line was closed, Terrier steam locomotives pulled carriages along the 5-mile (8 km) Hayling Billy line from Havant station on the mainland to a station which was located at the northern end of Staunton Avenue, passing through Langstone where there was a Halt.[2] A tourist attraction — the East Hayling Light Railway — is a 2 ft (610 mm) gauge railway that runs for just over 1 mile (1.6 km) from Beachlands Station to Eastoke Corner with aspirations to extend the route to Ferry Point within the next few years. The nearest railway station to Hayling Island is Havant, just onto the mainland off Hayling Island. Alternatively, Portsmouth and Southsea is another railway station, used for connections to Bristol (Temple Meads) and Cardiff. [edit] Interesting factsAn iron-age shrine in the north of Hayling Island was later developed into a Roman temple in the first century BC and was first recorded in Richard Scott's Topographical and Historical Account of Hayling Island published in 1826. The site was excavated between 1897 and 1907 and again from 1976 to 1978. Remains are no longer visible and are buried beneath cultivated farmland. [3] Salt production was an industry on the island from the 11th century (the Domesday Book recorded a saltpan on the island for this purpose) until the late 19th century. At the Northwest corner of the island lies the Hayling Oysterbeds Local Nature Reserve. Hayling Island was the location of a mock invasion during the military exercise Fabius in May 1944, rehearsing the preparations for D-Day[4] The ancient Yew tree in St. Mary's Church yard is believed to be the oldest yew in the country, with a girth of some nine metres. Although estimates as to its age vary, they range from over a thousand to nearly two thousand years old [1]. [edit] The phantom church
The inundations of the 14th century caused much land to be lost to the sea from the south coast of Hayling.[5] The losses included a church dedicated to All Saints and as in similar situations, local legends tell of ghostly church bells still ringing out from the sea-bed. [edit] Hayling Oysterbeds
Oysters have been farmed on the Hayling Oysterbeds since as early as 1819, right up until the 1970s and became a delicacy that was exported throughout the country under the classification of “Emsworth Oysters”. Large complexes consisting of several pens separated by a series of bund walls were built to contain the oysters at varying stages of growth. Although large sections of the bund walls have since collapsed into the harbour, much of shape and scale of the beds can still be seen today. In 1996, the oyster beds on the north west coast of Hayling Island were restored by the Havant Borough Council, creating a wildlife haven which has become an important seabird breeding site. The Design Council awarded this project 'Millennium Product' status for the renovation. [edit] Paris To Hayling Charity Cycle RideThe island is the home of the famous Paris To Hayling Charity Cycle Ride[2]. This event run entirely by local unpaid volunteers, was started in 1986 and has been run every year since. Up to 2008 just over £1,100,000 has been collected for more than 400 good causes. Entrants have come from 15 different countries on 5 continents. [edit] PopulationIn the mid to late twentieth century, Hayling Island's population was known to double during the Summer months, due to a large influx of holiday makers and the associated tourism employees to accommodate. As domestic holidays have declined and Hayling's prominence as a traditional English seaside resort have followed in parallel, the population only swells by approximately 20%-25% (English Tourist Board estimate, 2001).
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