We’re off on our annual holiday next week and sailing from Portsmouth. We’ll be heading down there in plenty of time and since it’s a later and shorter ferry crossing than we usually take we’re going to eat at Portsmouth rather than on the Ferry at Gunwharf Quays. I’ll be lugging my tow bar mounted 4-bike rack as usual so parking is an issue doe to the overall length of the car. I usually try to find parking spots next to grass verges or pavements so I can park with the bike rack over the verge or pavement, so usual NCP type car parks and multi-story’s are out. Anyone know of a spacious car park in convenient distance to Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth?

Cheers.

Leaving your bikes on it and hoping to take them on holiday?

Park and Ride would work… But your bikes would be at risk.

There’s one just opposite the Wightlink Terminal about 5 mins walk to Gunwharf or there’s on-street behind the Navy Sportsground – again 5 minutes to GW.

HTH

Or the oversize vehicle car park at ground level at Gun Wharf itself, opposite the taxi rank.

Or inside the Gunwharf carpark on a lower level seeing as they are happy for LWB vans down there every day

If you’re from out of Hampshire and the reason for early is to take the edge off a longer journey why not use one of the nice country pubs in the villages north of Portsmouth instead?

Having said that I’ve left bikes locked up outside in that part of Pompey a fair few times in broad daylight.

If they are quick to get on or off you could always offload and lock up in the middle of gunwharf.

Also the historic dockyard car park is I think a little less used/more spacious. Don’t know what it is like for security.

lock up in the middle of gunwharf

AKA Portsmouth Bike Theft central.

Good call on going somewhere else on the way in (Meon Valley, QECP etc)

lock up in the middle of gunwharf

AKA Portsmouth Bike Theft central.

That I didn’t know (and I’ve left bikes there in the past without issue) I figured they might be able to see them from where they ate.

Edit: I’ve always thought it was so public it would be hard for a scrote to do their thing!

If the weather is nice and you eat outside you can lock them to railings nearby. Me and a mate had a drink at the slug and lettuce and had our bikes right next to us

Thanks all. Hadn’t thought about the theft risk, thought I would be locking the bikes up to the rack (which is locked to the tow bar and tow bar locked to the car), but realise that isn’t necessarily 100% secure for determined thieves. I’ve got an Espresso (shit) brown Roadrat and my wife’s is a crappy Halfords lump of pig iron, so not much risk there, but the kids would be gutted if their Frog bikes were pilfered.

We’re coming from the Midlands so some possibility to stop off en-route even if it means a slight detour, but the wife is of the type that like to get there super early in case some sort of traffic apocalypse occurs on the roads (entirely possible to be fair) that means we get stuck and miss the ferry.

Didn’t know about the oversized car park at the Quays. Possibly the best option especially from a security perspective (assumed it’s manned and CCTV’d). Do you have to book a space in advance or just turn up?

Its not manned but there is CCTV – although like most places they will probably try and pass it off under the DPA and the legally useless “vehicles and contents are left….”

OP – if you’re stuck then theres always the option of dropping into this side (lee on the Solent) and parking near me if you guys want to have a wander and a bite.
Then you’re only a few miles from the destination and can head in after all the traffic.