Coast Watch

It’s a long way to the top, but once you are there, the watchkeepers of the National Coastwatch Institution command a 360 degree view over Southampton Water and the Solent with a view of up to 11 miles.
This is the NCI Calshot Tower on Calshot Spit, a mile long shingle and sand bank at the entrance to Southampton Water, and provides a near birds-eye view over shipping movements in Southampton Water as well as much of the prime leisure sailing waters of the Solent.
The lookout platform is about 100 feet above sea level, and the only way to get there is by climbing a vertical ladder inside the tower.
I’ve done it once, but not having a particularly good head for heights once was enough. Don’t get me wrong, once on the platform with the magnificent view it affords I was entirely comfortable, but the thought of that vertical ladder was too much for me to want to attempt it again on my visit today.
Instead, I was content to view the lifeboat station next door and talk to NCI station officials at ground level.
This tower, like a network of similar National Coastwatch stations round our coast, is manned by a team of trained volunteers who keep a daylight watch over coastal waters year round.