Solent & Neighbouring Area Beach BBQ – Wednesday 16th July 2025

Hi Everyone,

With July fast approaching, it seems only fitting to provide details for the “Solent MX5 Beach BBQ 2025” – it’s got sizzle! ?

As per our Solent Area Programme for 2025, this event is being held on the evening of Wednesday 16th July 2025,  especially with the evening should still be reasonably long at this time of year, so we get to sit and relax on the beach to chat and partake in convivial chatter ?

We will meet at Rownhams Services,  M27 Westbound,  as there is plenty of parking there for us to gather and toilets facilties are available in the services, from 18:00 onwards, ready for a swift departure at 1830!

We will then drive in convoy down the A326, so we can swing into Morrisons, Spruce Drive, Totton, Southampton SO40 8AD, to pick up those travelling for the West, or who live closer to the Morrisons Superstore?

We will then proceed to to Calshot Beach and park in our normal area by the beach huts, adjacent to the toilet facilities there. Unfortunately, parking charges now apply at Calshot Beach, since 2023 and in 2024 they removed the £3 for 3 Hours option? so we will sadly be lumbered with a £4 charge per MX-5 for parking, which is ludicrous for the relatively short time we will be there but the saving grace is that the machines accept payment by the RINGO APP and it’s a great venue for our Beach BBQ, with WC facilities close by ?

Please note we did investigate other possible beach venues in 2024 that don’t charge for parking after 6pm, such as Hayling Island and East Beach, Selsey but sadly they have all jumped on the bandwagon and imposed evening charges now ?

***Please confirm your attendance by replying to the forum post for ease of admin and state which location you wish to rendevous at,  so we can gauge numbers and know who to expect for the drive! ***

If you cannot make the drive start time, please drive straight to Calshot but please let us know via the forum that you are doing so. The location is given in the screen grab below and we park in the Calshot Beach Car Park, which has great views of the Solent at Ships that happen to be passing by at the time ?️

Our destination is what3words – cadet.backyards.spiking

Please remember to bring your own Portable BBQ, or Gas Stove and food of your choosing, together with any drink, tea, coffee or other favourite tipple.

The owners club stopped paying for the BBQ’s a few years back, so we have to buy our own portable BBQ’s but they can be obtained very cheaply at various budget High Street outlets and it is a great sociable evening and if the weather is anything like it has been recently, it will be a fantastic evening – we have our fingers crossed ???

For those that have not been before we drive to the Calshot Beach and set up camp on the beach with either deckchairs or blankets to sit on and then proceed to burn perfectly good sausages and burgers! ?

When we have watched the ships go by, partaken in friendly chatter and hopefully watched the sun go down, we then drive home at dusk – “Perfick” as Pop Larkin would say ???

As before Small Gas BBQ’s, or stoves are best, as they dont have the same fire risk issues and the nause of having to fully extinguishing them and dispose of them at the end of the night!  However, New Forest Council had installed Fire Resistant BBQ Disposal Points last year, so all is good on this front.

NB: If you google Calshot and the use of BBQ’s, they say “small private BBQ’s are permitted but Charcoal BBQ’s must be raised of the ground to avoid damage or fire risk to vegetation”. The beach is pebbles so this does not really to us, but for campers using the grass area at the rear of the beach.

We look forward to seeing you on the night.

Best Regards

Team Solent