Daedalus

Former Royal Naval air station now home to the Hovercraft Museum, Solent Airport, and wartime heritage buildings within a regenerating enterprise zone.

The Daedalus area takes its name from HMS Daedalus, the Royal Naval air station that operated here from 1917 until 1996. For visitors, the principal draw is the Hovercraft Museum, which occupies original wartime hangars on the former airfield and houses the world's largest collection of hovercraft, including the SR.N4 cross-Channel craft. The museum is run by volunteers and is open on selected days, so checking ahead is advisable. Solent Airport at Daedalus maintains a working runway used for light aviation, flight training, and occasional charter flights. Plane spotters will find vantage points along the perimeter fencing, and the sight and sound of small aircraft is part of the area's character. The Solent Enterprise Zone occupies much of the former airfield and is primarily a business and employment area, but several of the original military buildings have been retained, giving parts of the site a distinctive mid-twentieth century industrial character. Walkers can follow public footpaths around sections of the perimeter, and there are information boards explaining the site's wartime significance. HMS Daedalus was one of the busiest airfields on the south coast during the Second World War and played a significant role on D-Day in June 1944. The control tower and several hangars survive as visual reminders of that history. For visitors interested in aviation or military heritage, Daedalus is well worth a detour from the seafront. The site is a ten-minute walk from the western end of Marine Parade.