Southampton Water

On the slightly steeper eastern shore are the Southampton suburb of Weston, the villages of Netley and Hamble-le-Rice, and the Royal Victoria Country Park.

An area of urban development (the Waterside) runs in the narrow band of land between Southampton Water and the New Forest National Park.

Villages such as Marchwood, Hythe, Dibden Purlieu, Holbury and Fawley have all experienced significant growth.

With the notable exception of the oil terminals serving Fawley Refinery, most of the dock facilities of the Port of Southampton lie upstream of the top of Southampton Water, on the estuaries of the River Test and, to a lesser extent, the River Itchen.

An additional factor is the phenomenon of the "double tide", which results in unusually prolonged periods of high water.

[2] There are no fixed transport crossings of Southampton Water or the estuary of the River Test south of the bridges that link Redbridge and Totton.

[5] In 1925 American hard-shelled clams were introduced into the River Test in an area warmed by cooling water discharge of Southampton Power Station in an attempt to breed them to allow them to be used as eel bait.