Hampshire Waterways

Itchen Navigation: A Portrait of the Waterway

Introduction

A portrait in words and pictures of the route of the Itchen Navigation from north to south is given on the following pages. A brief verbal description of the waterway is illustrated mainly with pictures by the author but these have been expanded with images from others, both historical and modern. There are almost 700 pictures currently in this portrait.

Each image is a link to a larger version of the picture. In a modern browser with Javascript enabled, this will open within this window - otherwise the larger image will replace the contents of this window (use your browser’s back button to return to the parent page). For those using devices (eg phones) with limited data allowances, the size of the larger version is given in brackets after the caption.

Included with each picture is an Ordnance Survey National Grid Reference (OSGB36) of the image viewpoint given to 100 metres. For those using GPS devices, the latitude and longitude (in WGS84) of this position is also given by default in degrees, minutes and seconds to the nearest second. One second of arc in latitude is approximately 30 metres and for longitude in this part of Hampshire just under 20 metres. For those who prefer (and who have JavaScript enabled), these WGS84 values can be displayed instead as decimal degrees or degrees and decimal minutes by choosing the Settings icon at the foot of the route description pages (via the Page Links icon on small screens). It should be borne in mind that when many of these pictures were taken, GPS facilities were not available to the public (or for even earlier images, not even dreamed of) and some of these references have had to be estimated.

In addition, two maps cover the route from Winchester to Northam (which is now part of Southampton). For details of the Navigation’s locks and barges see this page.

Every effort has been made to ensure that the route descriptions are accurate. However, changes can occur at any time. The website manager would be pleased to hear about any changes or errors found. The Friends of The Itchen Navigation Facebook page can also give an up-to-date picture of the Navigation.