Islands · South East England
Whale Island
Whale Island — island in Hampshire, England.
Wikimedia Commons contributors — see linked file page for photographer and licence licence
Plan your visit
- Typical visit
- 4 h–12 h
- Nearest railway station
- Portsmouth and Southsea · 2.1 km
- Free entry
- Dog-friendly
About
Whale Island is a island in the United Kingdom. Wikidata describes it as: "island in Hampshire, England". Coordinates: 50.8167°, -1.0969°.
Photo gallery
Protected designations
- Site of Special Scientific Interest: Portsmouth Harbour SSSI
- Ramsar wetland: Portsmouth Harbour
Designations sourced from Natural England open data under OGL v3.
From the Wikipedia article
Whale Island is a small island in Portsmouth Harbour, close by Portsea Island. It is home to HMS Excellent, the oldest shore training establishment within the Royal Navy, and the location of the Navy Command Headquarters. The island is linked to Portsea Island and thence to the mainland by road bridges.
Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.
Background
History
Ordnance Survey maps of Portsmouth Harbour from 1862 show Whale Island as a narrow strip: its east-to-west dimensions were similar to present times, but north to south it measured only tens of yards. To its northwest was Little Whale Island. Modern Whale Island is predominantly reclaimed land, using the deposits dredged from Portsmouth harbour during the 19th century, increasing the land area by about 125%. It was constructed with the help of the many prisoners taken in the Napoleonic Wars.
Visiting
HMS Excellent is an active naval base so it is not open to the general public, but there are occasional open days and prospective visitors are advised to contact the base.
Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Coordinates
- 50.8167, -1.0969
- District
- Portsmouth
- Parish
- Portsmouth, unparished area
- Postcode
- PO2 8ER
- Parliamentary constituency
- Portsmouth North
- Nearest railway station
- Portsmouth and Southsea — 2.1 km
Sources
- wikidata: Q7990502 (CC0)
- wikipedia: Whale Island, Hampshire (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- commons: Whale Island, Portsmouth, 1976 - geograph.org.uk - 345367.jpg (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Frequently asked questions
- Where is Whale Island?
- Whale Island is in South-East England, United Kingdom (postcode PO2 8ER), in the parish of Portsmouth, unparished area.
- Is Whale Island a protected site?
- Yes — Whale Island is part of the Portsmouth Harbour SSSI Site of Special Scientific Interest and the Portsmouth Harbour Ramsar wetland.
- Is Whale Island free to visit?
- Yes, Whale Island is free to enter.
- How do I get to Whale Island?
- The nearest railway station is Portsmouth and Southsea, about 2.1 km away. Drivers can navigate to postcode PO2 8ER.