Walk 44. Bognor Regis to Pagham

 Today I’m squeezing in a short walk from Bognor to Pagham.

I start back at Bognor pier and set off along the esplanade…

After a mile or so, the esplanade ends and I move onto the beach. Mmmmm…pebbles, my favourite!

I reach a groyne made from boulders. The tide is coming in so it is almost inaccessible, but I am just in time to cross it via these steps…

On the other side the pebbles continue…

I’m now on Aldwick beach and plod on past some very expensive looking houses that back onto the beach…

Someone has built a mini pyramid from the white stones on the beach. Must have taken a while…

As I approach Pagham the beachside properties become less palatial…

And then I find myself at today’s finish point, Pagham Yacht Club…

Well, I did say it was a short one!

Walk 43. Littlehampton to Bognor Regis

 I begin my walk today by crossing the footbridge over the River Arun…

On the other side I follow the river bank back to the sea, first down a small road…

…then along a path passing various boatyards and the like…

After about three-quarters of a mile I reach the point where the river flows into the sea…

There is a car park and cafe here but the beach is remarkably deserted apart from a few dog-walkers. It’s quite warm today but maybe the breeze is putting people off! 

The tide is out, exposing plenty of sand which is much easier to walk on than the pebbles at the top of the beach! Behind the beach are a lot of dunes that are fenced off to protect nesting birds and other wildlife. The beach seems to go on for miles…

It turns out the beach does go on for miles! There is the tiny settlement of Atherington about halfway where there are some loos and a cafe…

…but not much else until I get to Middleton-on-Sea. Middleton has some interesting sea defences in the form of piles of large stone blocks. Instead of being placed at the top of the beach, or built out at right-angles like groynes, they are out at the low tide mark…

It is also around here that a long row of houses have their back garden walls built right up to the beach. It looks like the sea reaches them at high tide and the Coast Path is diverted inland to by-pass them. If you are thinking of walking this section, once again - very important to check your tide times, kids!

By the time Middleton merges into Felpham the footpath reappears beside the beach…

Soon the path becomes a prom, which continues all the way to Bognor.

Bognor seafront seems neat and pleasant but unremarkable. Except, of course, for the thing that Bognor is probably most famous for…yes, you guessed, a whacking great Butlins Holiday Centre!

Shortly after, I arrive at the rather sad remains of Bognor pier. Like many Victorian pleasure piers, this one  suffered late 20th Century decline including that popular pier pastime of bursting into flames! Still, at least a bit of it is still left…

This is my end point for today, so I’ll see you next time…!

Walk 42. Worthing to Littlehampton

 Worthing seafront is bright and sunny but with a nippy wind as I set off for today’s walk. Heading west from the pier I take a photo from the beach before walking along the prom.

After about ten minutes I come to a Canadian flag blowing about in the wind and a commemorative plaque honouring the Canadian troops who were here in both World Wars…

As I continue along the mile-and-a-half of prom, I again appreciate how well kept the place looks. There are no broken railings or benches, and there are obvious signs of investment such as plenty of kerbside electric car charging points!

Eventually the prom ends and the path crosses the beach in front of some very nice beachside properties…

Somewhere about here I pass from Worthing into Goring-by-Sea. The concrete path continues past large grassy areas and, apparently, a pirate hide-out…

At a busy beachside cafe the path turns onto the beach and cuts through some bushes…

I emerge onto a very busy grassy area…

…and pass into Ferring…

Not much of Ferring can be seen from the coast path…

…but only ten minutes later I reach the Kingston Gorse private estate. They seem like a whacky, fun-loving bunch!

At least I don’t have to walk along the pebble beach. This wide grassy path is a public footpath…

Past the estate the grass path continues, except for a short detour on the beach, past more huge mansions all the way to Rustington on the outskirts of Littlehampton.

It’s at Rustington that the prom starts again…

Shortly after, I enter Littlehampton proper…

Like Worthing, Littlehampton looks well-kept and prosperous. There is some building work on the sea front that will provide amenities such as beach showers and EV charging points, which will be nice!

This east beach area is also the home of the ‘longest bench in Britain’! Completed in 2010 it is 1000 feet long, can seat 300 people, and runs between two of these structures…

So I arrive at the river Arun…

…and turn inland along a nice riverside walk, passing cafes and flats…

…until I reach the footbridge across the river, which is the endpoint for today!

Walk 41. Southwick to Worthing

 Last time I finished at the far end of a two mile long spit of land, surrounded by the industrial wasteland of Shoreham Harbour. Happily, you don’t have to go all the way back to get off! 

I head down here…

…where there is a public footpath across the lock gates!

The path comes out onto a main road that is lined with more industrial units.

After ten minutes I come across a small beach with a view of the harbour entrance. To get from one side of this small gap to the other entails a walk of more than three miles…

Also here is an old lighthouse that seems to be still in use guiding ships into the harbour.

I continue up this road, past scrap metal yards, aggregate yards, diy shops, tyre fitters, and then blocks of flats for another twenty five minutes until finally I reach the footbridge across the river Adur.

On the other side of the river I turn left, back eastwards, to get back to the river mouth. The path follows a residential street for nearly a mile, all the way to Shoreham Fort.

Shoreham Fort is a Victorian defensive structure built to defend the mouth of the river. It seems to be barriered off at the moment, although there is an organisation called the Friends Of Shoreham Fort who are hoping to restore it.

Turning westwards once more, there is an expanse of pebble beach disappearing into the distance. Fortunately for my legs, a boardwalk has been built down the beach!

I stroll along admiring the rather nice beachfront properties I’m passing…

The boardwalk stretches for over a mile. I walk for a short distance over the pebbles, then there is a prom to walk on. 

To the landward is a long thin lake - the Widewater Lagoon Nature Reserve…

Continuing along the prom, I head into Lancing. The town has a nice expanse of green behind the beach…

Lancing is not a big place and I’m soon heading out again! The road to Worthing pier (it’s the book that Orwell should have written…) runs alongside the beach. I could walk on the pebbles, but wimp out and take the footpath…

The last mile and a half is a pleasant stroll along this road, through Worthing to the pier. Worthing seems a nice place, even out of season. The seafront is well kept with plenty of people about, but without the slightly over-the-top trendiness of Brighton! 

So I reach Worthing Pier, my finish point today.