​​Langstone Harbour​

​​The construction site is situated to the south of the car park on Ferry Road. The most visible part is the large concrete area with concrete blocks below the quayside that formed part of the construction site. The site stretches across several hundred yards to the south where you can walk. A faint line visible in the grass allows you to follow the lines of the large concrete construction area, and more concrete blocks can be seen on the shoreline.

​During the run-up to D-Day in 1944, civilian contractors came here every day to work on what would become the Phoenix Caissons. These were used for building the large outer breakwaters of the Mulberry Harbours, the artificial portable harbours.

​Once these large concrete structures had been constructed, they were placed into the water using slips. The caissons came in several different sizes, the largest weighing over 6,000 tonnes and the smallest 1,600 tonnes. These were floatable and were towed into the harbour area and sunk there until they were needed. Due to the secrecy around the Mulberry Harbours, the contractors were not told about of the specific use of these components or where they were going to. 

​In a very early stage of the Normandy landings, the individual components for the Mulberry Harbours, such as the caissons located here, were refloated and towed all the way across the Channel to Normandy. 

​To the north side of Ferry Road, looking across the harbour, the remains of an unused Phoenix Caisson broken in two pieces are visible. From here, it is possible to board the Langstone Ferry to cross the water to the Portsmouth side, passing the Phoenix Caisson as you cross. On the other side, the Liberation Route Europe Hiking Trail continues.  

​Details of The Hayling Ferry can be found here https://www.haylingferry.net