Meon Shore, situated on the eastern side of the entrance to Southampton Water, is a long stretch of sand and shingle beach that continues along the Solent. With views of the Isle of Wight and plenty of cruise liners sailing by, the beach is peaceful, although can be busy.
Backed by cliffs which have been known to crumble, the beach can be overlooked from the path above in some places, and finding the right spot can be tricky. The beach isn’t officially a naturist beach either, and is often frequented by dog walkers and horse riders. However, there have been very few reports of innappropriate or anti-social behaviour, so is generally considered safe as long as respect is given.
The naturist section extends from about 200 metres north-west (right if looking out to sea) of the huts that line the entrance area to the beach. All amenities are located here as well, with an ice cream van at peak periods in summer, and some public toilets. Parking used to be free along Cliff Road, but reports of pay-and-display machines have been cropping up. Either way, I doubt it is particularly costly to park for a few hours.
Mostly small shingle, sand does appear at low tide. The beach is approximately 20 metres wide on average, and gently slopes down into the sea. Backed by cliffs which are prone to rock falls, the beach is also frequented by dog walkers and occasionally horse riders, and in certain spots is overlooked from the footpath on top of the cliffs.
Generally speaking very clean considering its proximity to a busy shipping lane in-and-out of Southampton Water. Due to the shallowness of of the foreshore it can feel quite warm on a good summer’s day, but for swimming you will need to venture further out as the sand has a very gentle slope. Relatively flat and at high tide is ideal for swimming.
Directions
South Western Trains on the Weymouth/Poole line will stop at Southampton Central and after changing, head back along on the Portsmouth line to Fareham.
From Fareham train station, the X5 Solent Ranger bus heads south to Stubbington (10 mins journey) and then the local 21 service will take you to Hill Head. Walk west for 15 mins towards the harbour entrance, over the bridge and along to the beach.