Hurst Beach Accessible Trail

Hurst Beach Accessible Trail is a 1.6-mile out-and-back from Keyhaven Amenity Car Park to Hurst Beach and back. It starts on village roads, then follows a mostly level route along the sea wall beside the yachting channel and saltmarsh. Allow one to two hours; about 90 minutes gives you time for the benches and beach viewpoint. This is the short walk to Hurst Beach, not the longer Hurst Spit walk to Hurst Castle.

Leave the car park onto Keyhaven Road. At the Old Post Office, turn left and pass the yacht club to a waymarked gravel path on your right. Follow it onto the sea wall, where benches look across the channel toward the Isle of Wight. As the footpath bends, keep the saltmarsh and island on your left, then continue to Saltgrass Lane. At its sharp right bend, cross the wooden footbridge to Hurst Beach, or stop at the viewpoint and turn back. Most of the walk is level gravel or surfaced path; the finish is on shingle. At the benches, frame the channel in front of the island to show the distance across the water.

Keyhaven has a long harbour history: small boats have used it since at least 1206 to carry cattle and sheep from the Isle of Wight to the mainland water meadows. The starting car park has four accessible bays and easy-access toilets, with a pub nearby; parking is pay-and-display. The last stretch leaves the more predictable gravel and surfaced paths for shingle, so use the viewpoint as your turnaround if that footing does not suit you. If Hurst Castle is your goal, plan that as a separate, longer walk along the spit.