Along the Solent Way The Solent Way - Milford on Sea to Lymington The Solent Way is a 60-mile footpath along the Hampshire coastline from the seaside town of Milford-on-Sea to Emsworth Harbour. The route is marked with a sea bird on a green background. The Solent Way begins in Milford-on-Sea with its splendid views of the Needles and the Isle of Wight. The walk can either start from the beach or from the east side of the village car park. The route from Keyhaven to Lymington is flat with a mostly firm gravel surface. The walk to Lymington is about 5 miles and passes through a Nature Reserve, classified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, it is an area of outstanding beauty. Also with the number of footpaths around the reserve one can easy plot out one’s own circular walk. The car parks to use are, Keyhaven (large), Fishtail Lagoon (small, informal, about 10 places), Maiden Lane (alongside the road, about 6 places) and Bath Road Car park, alongside the yacht clubs (large). The Solent way in this region is also popular with cyclists, you can cycle the Solent Way from Milford on Sea to Lymington. The route through the Nature Reserve is a permissible cycle route. The Nature Reserve is made up of lagoons, reeds beds, salt marsh and mud flats and supports a number of vulnerable plants and rare species and provides rich feeding grounds for a wide variety of birds, particularly during the spring and autumn migrations. The lagoons also support nationally important breeding populations of little terns.     Birds The common waders seen all year round are the, Curlew, Dunlin, Little Egret, Oystercatcher, Redshank, Ringed Plover With regular migrants such as the Ruff, Little Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Greenshank and the Green Sandpiper at the end of the summer. Wildfowl in good numbers during winter include, Canada Goose, Brent Goose, Mallard, Pintail, Shelduck, Shoveler, Red-Breasted Merganser, Teal and Wigeon with divers and grebes as regular visitors. Other regular birds include the, Avocet, Kingfisher, Lapwing, Grey Plover, Golden Plover and a large breeding colony of Black-Headed Gulls. Salt Industry Although the area between Lymington and Keyhaven is a peaceful nature reserve today, it was in historic times a hive of industry, with a continuous line of salt works along the 5 miles of coastline from Lymington to Hurst Spit. The greatest concentration of industry being in an area of two miles by half a mile wide situated in Oxey and Pennington marshes. Picture the area in the 18th century, with evaporating ponds for as far as the eye could see, countless small windmills pumping the brine to the boiling houses, billowing smoke from the boiling houses, boats delivering coal and taking away the salt and the air thick with white salt dust. Links Hampshire Walks BBC IOW Walking Festival Natural England Ramblers Walks Finder Bike Register RSPB South Downs Way Southern Walks South West Coast Path Visit South West Walking on the Web Walking Pages