Ferry point is the closest part of Hayling to our neighbouring island of Portsmouth, with Eastney only a few hundred yards off shore. Travel between these two points was long provided by the Hayling Ferry service which ran regularly throughout the year carrying foot and bike passengers across this narrow stretch of water. Unfortunately, the service stopped running in 2015. In the early ninteen-hundreds, the future of the ferry service was called into doubt by plans to build a permanent crossing between Hayling and Eastney. The plans consisted of an aerial bridge with a suspended carriage that would travel back and forth along the require 720 foot span. The plan however was rejected by Hayling Parish Council in 1903, preserving the future of the ferry service to this day.
During the build up to the D-day landings of 1944, much of this area served as a site for the construction of mysterious concrete structures, that were later to form part of the Mulberry Harbours. Remains of the concrete plinths that the structures were built upon, now serve as a warm spot for sun bathers, whilst a damaged Mulberry unit sits just off shore reminding us all of the their purpose.
The pub that sits at this end of the Island was originally named the Norfolk Lodge Inn, after the Dukes of Norfolk who were once the Lords of the manor of South Hayling. Timbers used in the construction of the pub were salvaged from HMS Impregnable, which sunk of the Hayling coast in 1798. The name change to “The Ferry Boat Inn” in the 1950s was partially attributed to a popular song of the time “Down at the Ferry Boat Inn”.
