Hurst Spit in Hampshire, is a shingle beach one mile and a half long, at the western end of the Solent, near Milford-on-Sea. Hurst Castle, built for Henry VIII, situated at the end of the Spit, guards the approaches to Southampton. Spectacular views of the Solent and the Isle of Wight, only three quarters of a mile away, can be obtained at the end of Hurst Spit.