Portsmouth - Geography and Climate

Geography and Climate

Most of the city of Portsmouth lies on Portsea Island, located where the Solent joins the English Channel. This makes Portsmouth the United Kingdom's only island city and the thirteenth most densely populated place in Europe. It is the second most densely populated place in the UK, after Inner London. The island is separated from the mainland to the north by a narrow creek, bridged in places to make it a peninsula in appearance. The sheltered Portsmouth Harbour lies to the west of the island and the large tidal bay of Langstone Harbour is to the east.

Portsdown Hill dominates the skyline to the north, providing a magnificent panoramic view over the city, and to the south are the waters of the Solent with the Isle of Wight beyond.

Being a seaside city, it is low-lying: the majority of its surface area is only about ten feet above sea level. The highest natural point on Portsea Island is Kingston Cross (21 feet), although the road surface over Fratton railway bridge reaches 25. There are, therefore, dangers that rising sea levels as a result of global warming could cause serious damage to the city.

The west of the city is mainly council estates such as Buckland, Landport and Portsea. These were built to replace Victorian terraces destroyed by bombing in the Second World War. After the war the massive estate of Leigh Park (one of the largest housing developments of its kind in Europe) was built to solve the chronic housing shortage during the post-war reconstruction. Since the early 2000s the estate has been entirely under the jurisdiction of Havant Borough Council, but Portsmouth City Council remains the landlord for these properties, thus making it the biggest landowner in Havant Borough.

Part of Old Portsmouth, the oldest part of the city, was known as Spice Island. Literally outside of the law once the city gates were closed, it was infamous for its pubs and other establishments, which attracted sailors on their "runs ashore".

  • Portsmouth Harbour

  • East facing aerial view of Portsmouth (with Gosport in the foreground)

  • View over Portsmouth from Portsdown Hill.

  • Aerial view of Portsmouth City Centre from Spinnaker Tower

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