Parking
Start at Fawley Town Square bus stop (SO45 1EA); parking and public toilets are there. Finish at Calshot Beach by the car park and bus stop; Bluestar 8 returns to Fawley.
Overview
About Ashlett Creek to Calshot Spit Walk
Why go
- Ashlett's mill, quay and moorings make the creek section distinctive.
Heads up
- The one-way finish needs a bus return or a second vehicle.
Map & elevation
The route
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
1 active New Forest alert
- CautionNew Forest outdoor-fire restrictionDo not use BBQs, campfires, stoves, outdoor camping equipment or other naked flames on the open Forest.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
New Forest Tour Guide
Your drive to Ashlett Creek to Calshot Spit Walk, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for New Forest National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this area
The Fish Trap Beneath the Marsh0:00 / 0:28
“Near Ashlett Creek, archaeologists found the wooden remains of a Saxon fishing trap in the tidal mud. Its two long arms formed a V, steering fish into a small circular enclosure as the tide went out.”
Plays on the road 0.6 km from the trailhead in the Parkwolf New Forest Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Mill That Used the Tide
- The Island That Stopped Floating
- The Garage That Pumped Fuel
- The Abbey Stone in Calshot Castle
- 283 audio storiesacross New Forest’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Red Deer, White-tailed Eagle, Harbor Seal, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 70 trails, 48 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Ashlett Creek to Calshot Spit Walk
From Fawley to the creekThe 2.8-mile (4.5 km) one-way walk starts at Fawley Town Square and ends at Calshot.
The 2.8-mile (4.5 km) one-way walk starts at Fawley Town Square and ends at Calshot. Ashlett Road descends gently to Ashlett Creek and Victoria Quay. From the quay, a creekside path passes the boatyard and Ashlett Sailing Club, crosses pony-grazed Fawley Green, then follows the power-station fence to the marshes. It is an easy mix of village lane, shoreline, woodland track, tidal wetland and shingle beach, with views over Southampton Water and the Solent.
The marsh crossingAshlett Mill is a Grade II listed building dating to 1816; Victoria Quay dates to 1887 and was…
Ashlett Mill is a Grade II listed building dating to 1816; Victoria Quay dates to 1887 and was used by barges carrying grain and salt. A grassy stretch can be muddy before it joins a wider gravel track. A bench stands before the metal-caged swing bridge. Beyond it, the lower Calshot Marshes path is tidal, with a higher, narrower grass line to the right; expect mud in wet weather. Wintering waders and brent geese use the mudflats, so keep dogs on a lead. At the gravel beach, look across the Solent to the Isle of Wight; Portsmouth’s Spinnaker Tower is visible on clear days.
Allow for the one-way finishAllow 1–2 hours over five gates; the ground is mostly level.
Allow 1–2 hours over five gates; the ground is mostly level. Take the Bluestar 8 bus back to Fawley or leave a second vehicle, since this walk does not return to its start. Fawley Town Square has parking and toilets. At Ashlett, the Jolly Sailor is beside the route; Calshot has public toilets and a seasonal café.
Wildlife
Wildlife in New Forest
28 sightingsRed DeerMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
10 sightingsWhite-tailed EagleMost seen around 10 AMSighting map
14 sightingsHarbor SealMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
176 sightingsEuropean Fallow DeerMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
93 sightingsWestern Roe DeerMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
54 sightingsMute SwanMost seen around 6 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across New Forest. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
