Swanwick or Mercury

[paultallett]

We have just had our berthing renewal arrive, and after a little chat with the wife we are considering having a change from Port Solent. We have narrowed it down to either Swanwick or Mercury, giving us a balance of price / facitilties / beauty etc.....

Over the half term we are hopefull of spending a night at each marina to make the choice easier, but has anyone got any extra tips that only a year at a site can find out?? Also, which one has more access to local shops / take aways bearing in mind we do have a couple of young people on board!!

Regards Paul.

 

[adrianb]

A tough one............

Not bad locations at all.

I have been a berth holder at both.

Mercury.
Pleasant surroundings, but a walk(fairly long) to Hamble village, even for milk etc
Excellent, friendly staff(When I was there at least)
Tide can run depending on location of berth.
The road to Hamble can get very busy, esp if Sunday market is on.

Swanwick.
7-11 shop just up the hill.
Nice walk, or cycle, along the river to Universal, and to the river mouth if really keen.
Staff less keen to engage, but still friendly. (I'd have my next boat here)
There was a plan to redo the whole site, with housing, new offices etc etc and the large shed has now been demolished. This will cause disruption. Not sure of current situation re developing, did hear it had been postponed.


My 2p's anyway.

 

[volvopaul]

Swanwick in my book, im just upriver, not much to do at mercury as its sort of out the way without a car ride, swanwick has good pubs, shops, chinese nearby, good chandlers etc, and the jolly sailor!!!

 

[terrysquires]

swanick

i agree with adrianb he has covered most of it we are based there also there is some companys on site to work on boat if needed

terrysquires
aquabat

 

[Firefly625]

We are at Mercury... & my parents have had a boat at Mercury for 39 years.....so I kinda grew up there! I have been to Swanwick obviously many times (aka Moodys as I still know it) and do agree with the fact there is more about.

...But

Mercury very safe for kids, it is not near a main road and off the beaten track so to speak so the only people around at the marina...are , well people with boats (which are all jolly trustworthy IMO), so great place to let your kids have some non supervised time...

loads of great dingy trips possible form Mercury with Badman creek great to explore, and a nice little dingy ride upto Swanwick to Jolly Sailer etc, or upto Port Hamble..

On site pub does great take away fish & chips!... and they are really trying to improve what they do with a lot of success. Rest of Marina well cared for and just a nice place to be.

Hamble village a 2 minute drive from Mercury, gives you shops and pubs and Royal Southern, RAFYC etc, etc, plus Port Hamble (Banana Wharf) etc..

Big Tesco pretty close...

Also Mercury is closer to Solent.... yeh, not by much... but it all takes time!

Arriving or exiting (depending which way you face) on flood / ebb tide can be tricky if you are far out, but closer to shore its absolutely fine....! Certainly where we are there is minimal movement..

 

[Resolution]

I've kept a yacht at Mercury for three years, but am currently at Premier / Swanwick. I've also worked at Hamble in the past and currently have an office at Swanwick.
adrianb and Firefly have made most of the key points very clearly. Both are great marinas. The access to Mercury down the Hamble road can be a nightmare at rush hour and some weekends. But during the week Mercury is a lovely quiet place to chill out. Swanwick is not! Oddly, travelhoist services at Mercury (an MDL marina) are sub-contracted out to HYS, so the service is not totally seamless....
Swanwick has more boat services businesses to hand and is I think better backed up (but I would because my company operates from there!). The development plans will mean some big changes in the shoreside layout likely in the next couple of years. Watch closely for announcements from Premier.
Staff at both have been attentive and helpful.