The Solent is a strait between the Isle of Wight and mainland Great Britain; the major historic ports of Southampton and Portsmouth lie inland of its shores. It is about 20 miles long and varies in width between 2+1⁄2 and 5 mi, although the Hurst Spit which projects 1+1⁄2 mi (2.4 km) into the Solent narrows the sea crossing between Hurst Castle and Colwell Bay to just over 1 mi (1.6 km).
The Delta Works is a series of construction projects in the southwest of the Netherlands to protect a large area of land around the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta from the sea. Constructed between 1954 and 1997, the works consist of dams, sluices, locks, dykes, levees, and storm surge barriers located in the provinces of South Holland and Zeeland.
The Portsmouth and Arundel Canal was a canal in the south of England that ran between Portsmouth and Ford in the Arundel district, it was built in 1823 but was never a financial success and was abandoned in 1855; the company was wound up in 1888. The canal was part of a larger scheme for the construction of a secure inland canal route from London to Portsmouth, which allowed craft to move between the two without having to venture into the English Channel and possibly encounter enemy ships or natural disaster. It was built by the Portsmouth & Arundel Navigation company. The canal was made up of three sections: a pair of ship canals, one on Portsea Island and one to Chichester, and a barge canal that ran from Ford on the River Arun to Hunston where it joined the Chichester section of the canal
The Isle of Portland is a tied island, 6 kilometres (4 mi) long by 2.7 kilometres (1.7 mi) wide, in the English Channel. The southern tip, Portland Bill, lies 8 kilometres (5 mi) south of the resort of Weymouth, forming the southernmost point of the county of Dorset, England. A barrier beach called Chesil Beach joins Portland with mainland England. The A354 road passes down the Portland end of the beach and then over the Fleet Lagoon by bridge to the mainland. The population of Portland is 13,417.
The Mulberry harbours were two temporary portable harbours developed by the British Admiralty and War Office during the Second World War to facilitate the rapid offloading of cargo onto beaches during the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944. They were designed in 1942 then built in under a year in great secrecy; within hours of the Allies creating beachheads after D-Day, sections of the two prefabricated harbours were towed across the English Channel from southern England and placed in position off Omaha Beach and Gold Beach, along with old ships to be sunk as breakwaters.
Portland Harbour is located beside the Isle of Portland, Dorset, on the south coast of England. Construction of the harbour began in 1849; when completed in 1872, its 520-hectare (1,300-acre) surface area made it the largest human-made harbour in the world, and it remains one of the largest in the world today. It is naturally sheltered by Portland to the south, Chesil Beach to the west and mainland Dorset to the north. It consists of four breakwaters: two southern and two northern. These have a total length of 4.57 km (2.84 mi) and enclose approximately 1,000 ha of water.
A breakwater is a permanent structure constructed at a coastal area to protect against tides, currents, waves, and storm surges. Breakwaters have been built since Antiquity to protect anchorages, helping isolate vessels from marine hazards such as wind-driven waves. A breakwater, also known in some contexts as a jetty or a mole, may be connected to land or freestanding, and may contain a walkway or road for vehicle access.
Langstone is a village near Havant, Hampshire in the south east of England in Portsmouth. It has good railway connections to London, Southampton, Portsmouth and Brighton, from the nearby Havant railway station. There are many large gated detached houses on the main road, "Langstone Road" and on the roads surrounding this. It has a sailing club, several architecturally unusual buildings, and several historically significant buildings, including a converted (water) millhouse and a converted 18th century windmill, the latter of which is a local landmark.
Langstone Harbour is a 2,085.4-hectare (5,153-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Hampshire. It is an inlet of the English Channel in Hampshire, sandwiched between Portsea Island to the south and west, Hayling Island to the south and east, and Langstone to the north. It is part of the Ramsar site of Langstone and Chichester Harbour Special Protection Area and Nature Conservation Review site. Parts are Special Areas of Conservation, or Local Nature Reserves, and some areas by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust.
Castletown is a small village in Underhill on the Isle of Portland in Dorset. It is located close to Fortuneswell, on the shores of Portland Harbour, and includes a sandy beach, as well as one of Portland's notable highlights; Portland Castle, while the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy is also located nearby.
Hugh Iorys Hughes was a Welsh civil engineer and keen yachtsman who submitted ideas to the War Office for the design of the Mulberry harbours used in Operation Overlord.
Ouwerkerk is a village in the southwest Netherlands. It is located in the municipality of Schouwen-Duiveland, Zeeland about 60 km south of Rotterdam.
Littlestone-on-Sea is a small coastal village in the parish of New Romney in Kent, England. It was established in the 1880s by Sir Robert Perks as a resort for the gentry, at the point of the local lifeboat station.
Lepe is a linear hamlet on the Solent in south-west Hampshire, England. In the civil parish of Exbury and Lepe, It is beside the Dark Water, and has Lepe Country Park, which runs from Stanswood Bay to the mouth of the Beaulieu River.
Portsbridge Creek, known officially as Portsea Creek, formerly as Portsea Lake and informally as Ports Creek, Port Creek, Portcreek and Canal Creek, is a tidal waterway just off the southern coast of England that runs between Portsea Island and the mainland from Langstone Harbour to Tipner Lake.
The Portland Breakwater Fort is a 19th-century fort, built between 1868-1875 to defend Portland Harbour, Dorset, England. It is located on the outer breakwater of the harbour and has been Grade II Listed since 1978. The fort is not open to the public and remains derelict. On the opposite side of the next stretch of the breakwater is the Portland Breakwater Lighthouse.
The Portland Mulberry Harbour Phoenix Units are two reinforced concrete caissons, built as part of the artificial Mulberry harbours that were assembled as part of the follow-up to the Normandy landings during World War II. Out of a total of 213 produced units, two units still remain at the Isle of Portland, in Dorset, southern England. They are located at Portland Harbour, close to Queen's Pier. The two units became Grade II Listed in 1993.
Inner Pierhead Fort is a 19th-century fort built to defend Portland Harbour at the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. It is positioned on the end of the inner breakwater, which abuts from the former dockyard of HMNB Portland. The fort was constructed between 1859-1862, and is 100 ft in diameter. The inner breakwater, including the fort, became Grade II Listed in 1978.
The Watersnoodmuseum or Flood Museum in Ouwerkerk, Netherlands is the "National Knowledge and Remembrance Centre for the Floods of 1953" and offers an in-depth picture of the events during and after the flood of 1 February 1953. The museum was officially opened on 2 April 2001. The museum also educates visitors about water safety, and the museum collects global knowledge about flooding.
The Volkerakdam or Volkerakwerken is the name given to a group of hydraulic engineering structures located between Goeree-Overflakkee and North Brabant in The Netherlands. The works are not a single dam, but are composed of three distinct structures: a dam between Goeree-Overflakkee and Hellegatsplein, a series of locks from Hellegatsplein to North Brabant, and a bridge from Hellegatsplein to Hoekse Waard. The works cross three separate bodies of water: the Haringvliet, Hollands Diep and Volkerak. The works together comprise the fifth project of the Delta Works.
