Buses, trains, ferries. Where were Finn and I today, 26th January 2022?

[whole diary]

[JayMac]

Many thanks

3 School Road Crossing on the Fawley Branch at Hythe

Correctly correctington!

[ray951]

7. Is the Gosport Ferry?

[eightonedee]

6 - (this seems too easy) the Hythe Ferry - but I guess the real question is "where" - so I'll guess approaching Southampton

[LiskeardRich]

7 being green will be the Gosport ferry

[JayMac]

6 - (this seems too easy) the Hythe Ferry - but I guess the real question is "where" - so I'll guess approaching Southampton

It is the Hythe Ferry. But headed t'other way.

7 being green will be the Gosport ferry

Correct! With location given earlier by stuving.

[JayMac]

1. Fareham, bridge at south end of station, I think?

paul. You appear to have lost 180 from your forum 'handle'

I'm curious. Or nosy if you prefer!

[CyclingSid]

Is 4 Gosport bus station?

Now if only the line went on straight ahead there ...

it does, sort of, with a short gap as the Fareham-Gosport bus/cycle way, which I will hopefully be doing this Saturday.

[brooklea]

2 is taken on Goldsmith Avenue, Fratton, with the SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) depot behind you.

[LiskeardRich]

6 - (this seems too easy) the Hythe Ferry - but I guess the real question is "where" - so I'll guess approaching Southampton

It is the Hythe Ferry. But headed t'other way.

7 being green will be the Gosport ferry

Correct! With location given earlier by stuving.

I’ve a photo somewhere of the Gosport ferry taken from the Wight Ryder almost reverse of your picture!

[JayMac]

Is 4 Gosport bus station?

It is. A pretty dismal place. But then again so is Gosport as a whole.

2 is taken on Goldsmith Avenue, Fratton, with the SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) depot behind you.

Correct.

[JayMac]

That's the lot all correctly answered. Even the tricky bus one.

Finn and I have had a grand couple of days around Portsmouth and Southampton. The Hythe Pier Railway is another quirky railway ticked off the bucket list. 2ft gauge with third rail at 250v DC^▸ (Direct Current) has to be unique. I've also learnt that the locomotives used are over 100 years old, having been built in 1917. They were originally built as battery locomotives and employed in a mustard gas factory in Avonmouth! I also learnt that the Hythe Pier is now Grade II listed.

I did enjoy the bus journey back from Hythe to Southampton although a train would've been better. One for the future perhaps, if the Fawley Branch reopens to passengers.

If you're ever in this area and want to make use of multiple buses across many operators then I highly recommend the Solent Go tickets. Validity across Portsmouth, Southampton and surrounding areas. Paper day and week tickets (for bus travel only) can be bought on board buses. There's also a smart card product that can be loaded with various tickets, including the Gosport and Hythe Ferries.
http://solentgo.co.uk/

[PhilWakely]

My late mother spent much of her early years in the Eastleigh area and on the Isle of Wight. She made use of the Hythe ferry may a time. I had never experienced it, so took her for one final ride on both the pier tramway and ferry back in October 2010. She was thrilled as the latest Cunard liner, the [then officially unnamed] Queen Elizabeth was berthed at the Ocean Terminal and the captain of the Hythe ferry did a very brief detour and circuit to allow us to view the liner.

[froome]

Is 4 Gosport bus station?

Now if only the line went on straight ahead there ...

it does, sort of, with a short gap as the Fareham-Gosport bus/cycle way, which I will hopefully be doing this Saturday.

I haven't come across that bus/cycleway, are the two users separated by a fence or verge or kerb or is it a shared road?

Gosport isn't exciting but it isn't as bad as some people have made it out to be. It does feel distinctly militaristic though, not surprising given the dominance of the navy here, but it is very easy to cycle around, as a lot of residents there do.

I've used the Hythe ferry a couple of times but not for several years now. Is the pier still as ropy as it was when I was last there? It certainly didn't feel that safe to walk the length of after I disembarked from the boat.

[paul7575]

The busway is basically a standard single carriageway road width which cyclists can use as well as buses, (and emergency vehicles).  Barriers drop to close it overnight.

If you find a road/busway intersection on Google Streetview you can see the setup:

https://goo.gl/maps/kqRcyd75E1iUZCEt8

IIRC^▸ ('if I recall/remember/read correctly') an early proposal did take it all the way to the station, another 750m or so, but they found there was no easy way to get back onto the local road network into Fareham town centre. 

Paul

[bradshaw]

Did you manage to see the old Gosport station, the first station for Portsmouth opened in 1841, six years before Portsmouth and Southsea station and used by Queen Victoria to get to the IoW?