Eastney Lake
Eastney Lake forms the south west corner
of Langstone Harbour, and being adjacent to Portsmouth it has a colourful
history. The finger-like western extremities of the estuary were filled early
in the 20th century. Land reclaimed on the south side was used for housing,
alongside Southsea Marina which was created in 1987 by enclosing part of the
mudflats. More recently, stone sea defences have been placed around the shore,
presumably to reduce erosion and damage from storm surges. Keen geologists
could attempt to identify the source of the stone. The area has perhaps more
than its fair share of old boats, which birds may use as safe perches. There
are plans to upgrade the footpath around the north and west sides of Eastney
Lake. This would give a path that is accessible at all states of the tide
around the whole of Langstone Harbour. Surveys were undertaken in winter 2002-3
to assess the disturbance to birds (particularly Brent Geese) from walkers and
dogs. The conclusion was that birds were largely unaffected.
The Glory Hole
Luckily an interesting feature called the Glory Hole can still be seen on the
South side of the lake. This is a small lagoon with a shingle ridge which is
overtopped on the highest spring tides. Plants typical of the zone near the
high tide mark, such as Sea Purslane and Glasswort, can be seen. Tidal lagoons
can be valuable for wildlife, because the trapped water attains different
properties from the sea water supplying it. Work needs to be done to see if
this example has any unusual flora or fauna. Now much reduced in size from that
shown on the 1898 Ordnance Survey map, the Glory Hole achieved notoriety
through being used as a dump for various dodgy substances (lead, mercury,
cadmium and asbestos) in the mid 20th century. For unknown reasons, the name
Glory Hole was also used to refer to an area of mudflats further east, now the
site of Southsea Marina.
In the last few years, swans have nested on the bank but disturbance from dogs
and people can be a problem.
Adjoining areas
Milton Locks Reserve is a small remnant of
natural coastline adjacent to Eastney Lake.
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