Tadiford Gap - Milford-on-Sea

Hampshire

Secluded sandy beach. Access by a light scramble down a crumbling sandy cliff. 1km walk from a car park or coast path from Milford or Barton

Getting There

Option 1: Follow the coast path from Barton-on-Sea (2 km) or Milford-on-Sea (1.5 km). Both have free parking, e.g. SO41 0LX in Milford.

Option 2: Taddiford Gap pay car park, SO41 0LJ. e.g. 6 hours is £6.70. Then its a 500m walk to the coast. You could, sort of, park on the B road outside the car park, but its kind of narrow.

Public Transport: The X1 bus runs along this stretch of coast Lymington (branchline station) - Milford (beach) - Taddiford Gap (pay car park) - New Milton (mainline station) - Barton - (many stops) - Bournmouth. In 2025, it was hourly Mon-Sat, 2 hourly Sun. Use Google Maps directions for the timetable.

You could do #SWC.62, from Lymington along the coast to New Milton

Description

The England Coast Path runs along a crumbling sandy cliff between Milford-on-Sea and Barton-on-Sea. Below is a long sandy beach, backed by the sandy cliffs.

There is only 1 access point, where the cliff has crumbled by a small stream. As you have to scramble down (its easy, but you do need to use hands to steady yourself at the top), and there's no road access, the beach is usually very quiet.

Its a lovely sandy beach, but there's no shade or facilities.

Note that the way down isn't maintained by the local council, so it can vary from year to year, as this part of the coast suffers from erosion.