Portsdown Hill

Portsdown Hill is a long chalk hill in Hampshire, England, offering good views over Portsmouth, the Solent, Hayling Island and Gosport, with the Isle of Wight beyond. The hill is on the mainland, just to the north of Ports Creek, which separates the mainland from Portsea Island, on which lies the main part of the city of Portsmouth, one of the United Kingdom's main naval bases. To the north lies the forest of Bere, with the South Downs marching in the distance. Butser Hill can be seen on a clear day. Southwick House nestles close by the north side of the hill, the HQ for U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower during the D-Day invasions; the generals prayed together before D-Day at Christ Church Portsdown, on the hill, which has a memorial window. The A3(M) motorway cuts through the east side of the hill while the original A3 climbs over the centre by the "George" pub and Christ Church. The nearest railway stations (from west to east) are Portchester, Cosham and Bedhampton. There are many stories about real and imagined tunnels in the hill. Part of the hill has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

During the early part of the English Civil War Royalist forces from Portsmouth were involved in a number of skirmishes with Parliamentarians on the hill

In the Victorian era the hill was home to a fair on Easter Mondays.