Solent Tidal Streams & Gates
Hurst Narrows • Needles Channel • Calshot Spit • referenced to HW Portsmouth
Tide times (see Local Tides) tell you when the water is high or low. Tidal streams are a different thing entirely: the direction and speed water is actually moving through the Solent's narrower gaps, which matters just as much for passage planning — arguably more, in a narrow channel with a foul tide running against you. The Solent has a well-known quirk here: its tidal streams turn well before high or low water at Portsmouth (the Solent's standard reference port), not at the same time as most places around the UK — so timing a passage off tide-table times alone can catch people out.
Why the Solent Turns “Early”
The western Solent (Hurst, the Needles) has only about half the tidal range of Portsmouth at the eastern end, but both places rise and fall over roughly the same few hours. The eastern end's tide has further to rise in the same time, so it catches up and overtakes the western end's height an hour or two before Portsmouth's actual high water — and that difference in water level, not the clock, is what actually drives the stream. The result: the Solent's tidal stream turns to run westward about one to two hours before HW Portsmouth, continues that way past the following low water, then turns east again — consistently earlier than the simple "turns at high water" pattern most places follow.
Right Now
Hurst Narrows
Between Hurst Point and Fort Albert, western Solent
| ↑ Turns north-east | Thu 05:23 |
| ↓ Turns south-west | Thu 11:49 |
| ↑ Turns north-east | Thu 17:44 |
Needles Channel
Mid-channel, west of Hurst Narrows
| ↑ Turns north-east | Thu 05:23 |
| ↓ Turns south-west | Thu 11:44 |
| ↑ Turns north-east | Thu 17:44 |
Calshot Spit
Mouth of Southampton Water, western end of the central Solent
| ↓ Turns west | Thu 01:33 |
| ↑ Turns east | Thu 08:54 |
| ↓ Turns west | Thu 13:54 |
Next turn shown in orange • times are approximate (see “About this data” below)
Reference Table
| Location | Turns (flood) | Turns (ebb) | Spring rate | Neap rate |
| Hurst Narrows | HW Portsmouth +4:50 (north-east) | HW Portsmouth -1:05 (south-west) | 3.9–4.4 kn | 1.9–2.2 kn |
| Needles Channel | HW Portsmouth +4:50 (north-east) | HW Portsmouth -1:10 (south-west) | 3.9–4.5 kn | 1.9–2.2 kn |
| Calshot Spit | HW Portsmouth -4:00 (east) | HW Portsmouth +1:00 (west) | Not reliably available free of charge — see NP337 | |
Rates are mid-channel spring/neap maximums (knots). "Flood" and "ebb" columns give the direction the stream turns to, and the offset from HW Portsmouth at which that turn happens.
About This Data
Hurst Narrows and Needles Channel figures are drawn from published Admiralty sailing directions for this stretch of coast, cross-checked against general Solent pilotage references — a narrow channel's tidal stream pattern is a fixed physical characteristic that doesn't change year to year, so an older reference source is just as valid as a new one here. Calshot Spit's turning direction and approximate timing are confirmed by both the National Coastwatch Institution and ABP Southampton VTS's own published explanations of the Solent's "early turn" — but a specific, reliable rate for this exact spot wasn't available free of charge, so none is shown; National Coastwatch's own site notes that chart tidal diamonds don't capture the detail close inshore in places like this, and the proper reference is the official (paid) Admiralty Tidal Stream Atlas, NP337. "Right now" times are calculated from this site's own Southampton tide predictions with a +45 minute approximation back to HW Portsmouth — the same relationship already documented on the Local Tides page — rather than a live fetch of Portsmouth's own tide data.
See also: Local Tides • Double Tides Explained • Solent Weather Buoys • Inshore Waters Forecast