Church Road

Street guide, Hayling Island

Church Road runs through North Hayling, leading to St Mary's Church, the oldest building on the island. The church, with its twelfth-century origins, sits in a peaceful churchyard surrounded by farmland. Church Road has a distinctly rural character, narrow and winding, with hedgerows and fields on either side. The road connects the main Havant Road to the scattered properties and farms of North Hayling. St Mary's Church is the historic heart of the island, the place where the community gathered for worship for centuries before the southern resort developed. Church Road is popular with walkers and cyclists, offering a quiet route through the agricultural landscape that characterises the northern half of the island. The road is a contrast to the busy seafront, a reminder that Hayling Island has always been a farming community as well as a seaside destination.