Ashlett Creek.

Mr B has a friend who wants to buy a boat 😱.  Boats are fine, and if one has plenty of dosh, whether one is practical and experienced in boating is irrelevant. People like that employ Mr B.  

Friends on the other hand expect favours.

On Tuesday I was invited to join an outing to Ashlett Creek - a boat for the viewing of - FOR SALE.

Ashlett Creek is at the outer end and western side of Southampton Water.

I declined to view the boat and contemplated instead the Ashlett tide mill, mill pond, mud berth moorings in the 'marina' there,  The Jolly Sailor, and the surrounding nature spaces.  Sitting on the conveniently placed benches (in memory of....) I sketched a rough draft of the tide mill building, and was chatted to by various dog walkers who passed that way.

All very bucolic and peaceful.  

It's a lovely place - even the gulls perched on the roof looking out across the mill pond looked serene.

Mill pond - demonstrating the term 'calm as a mill pond'

Tide's out, boats sitting in their mud berths.

In the background above you can see the tankers at the refinery berths at Fawley. 

The Jolly Sailor at the end of the green, seats overlooking the creek.

Ashlett Tide Mill

 

Info bit: Southampton Water and the Solent generally has unusual tides. Between high and low tides it experiences something called a stand; the tide stops its ebb.  In places the water actually rises (flows in again) during the stand.  It means that tide mills could get more milling out of the water available to them,  and there were apparently many tide mills around the Solent. I know of two that remain, this one and a working mill at Eling.  You can get more info from the link.