Walk 49. Fishbourne to Bosham

 Today’s walk will take me around the Bosham (pronounced ‘boz-um’ I believe) peninsula. Unfortunately there is a long stretch of coast that is private land with no public access, some of it farmland and some residential. So today will feature a fair bit of road walking!

I start on the southern edge of Fishbourne and head down the path that takes me down the other bank of the Chichester Channel.

After only three-quarters of a mile, the path turns inland through the trees…

…before emerging onto a lane.

To the left, the direction the coast is in, is a sign by the gates…

So I turn right and set off down Hook Lane…

About half an hour of walking down the lanes brings me to Bosham Hoe. This little settlement is on the southern tip of the peninsula about a mile and a half from Bosham itself, but I can’t tell you much more about it…

So I continue along the road for nearly a mile further. Here, the road turns to the right and there is a footpath to the left…

The short path takes me back to the shore opposite West Itchenor. 

A little ferry runs between here and West Itchenor. It appears that it also takes bikes, judging by the people queuing up to board…

Now that I’m back on the shore, it seems I am fortunate that it is low tide and I can stay here!

I follow the beach path up the western side of the peninsula towards Bosham. The water to the left is now the Bosham Channel…

After a little while the beach turns into mudflats and the path turns onto a road.

The road goes the rest of the way to Bosham, although I can save myself a couple of hundred yards because it is low tide…

The tide seems to be pretty central to life around here…

Bosham Quay is a nice spot for a quick snack

I’m actually going to end my walk today back at the main road just under a mile north of here. To find the footpath entails going into what looks like someone’s driveway! I’m not certain I’m going the right way, but then I see a sign…

Down here…

And I’m back on the beach!

The path runs sometimes on the beach…

…sometimes on an actual path…

…past some modest little homes…

…until I reach the Colner Creek…

The main road is only a couple of hundred yards from here. The footpath crosses a field, goes up some steps…

…and here we are, today’s finish. It’s a bit of an anonymous spot but it’ll have to do!

Walk 48. West Itchenor to Fishbourne

 I’m back at the boatyard where I finished last time, and the onwards path plunges into some bushes…

After running past some back gardens, it comes out on a picturesque quayside…

The next section follows the bank of the Chichester Channel with it’s collection of boats…

Unfortunately it’s not long before I come to some very posh houses that all have private waterfronts, so the path has to continue along the road.

At the end of the road the path veers slightly further inland, through a small copse, and across the fields of Westlands Farm…

This takes me to the tiny settlement of Westlands. I walk past the houses and then more fields…

A few minutes later I arrive at Birdham Marina. There is a shipyard here and a crane, giving it a bit more of an ‘industrial’ vibe than most marinas!

A couple of hundred yards further on is the disused Chichester Ship Canal. This was built a couple of hundred years ago but was only used for a few years before being mostly abandoned. It was officially closed in 1928. Today it is run by a charitable trust and seems to be home to an interesting selection of houseboats…

I cross over the lock gates and head into Chichester Marina. Now, this is a posh marina!

Access from the marina to the sea is controlled by another lock, manned by a very efficient young lady. A yacht is just leaving the harbour and I have to wait for the gates to close again. She tells me that it will only take five minutes, which is a lot quicker than walking all the way round the marina!

The lock soon fills up, the barriers open, and I’m on my way. 

From the marina, the path enters a small patch of woodland called Salterns Copse…

The ‘official’ right of way leaves the copse and heads inland across fields all the way to Dell Quay. But this is a coast walk and there is ‘permissive’ path all along the edge of the channel. So I take that option! And a very pleasant little stroll it turns out to be…

Approaching Dell Quay even this path gets diverted inland of some buildings. However, the tide is out and the beach looks do-able…

The seaweed is a bit slide-y but I reach Dell Quay safe and sound, where the nice looking pub is very busy…

Dell Quay turns out to be a tiny place with some boats. I’m quickly back on the bank-side path…

Apart from a short erosion-induced diversion at one point, I follow the channel bank all the way to Fishbourne. The village is just outside Chichester and is probably most famous for its Roman Palace. Not just a villa, this was a huge building with lots of mosaic floors and ornamental gardens. Well worth a visit!

I follow the path along a stream past some cottages until I reach a small bridge and the road. This is my finish point for today.

This has been a great walk today. Lots of variety and even the weather was good!

Walk 47. East Wittering to West Itchenor

 Today I’m back at the car park in East Wittering to start my walk.

As it is now summer in England, the sky is grey and there is a ferocious wind blowing off the sea!

I set off across the pebbles past yet more beachfront properties…

This goes on for a couple of miles, although there are a few short stretches with an actual path. Which is a welcome break from the stones!

Over the water, the Isle of Wight can be seen more clearly than on the last walk…

After a while the pebbles finally end and there is an area of sand dunes to cross…

This brings me to the lovely sandy beach of West Wittering which is surprisingly busy considering the weather!

I walk past the families, sand castles, and people in wetsuits partaking in various water sports, to the entrance to Chichester Harbour. Across there is Hayling Island…

Pointing north into Chichester Harbour is a sandy spit of land, much of which is sand dunes. Areas of the dunes are fenced-off to protect nesting birds but you can walk all the way around the edge…

Surprisingly, this is a half-hour walk! 

Back at the bottom of the spit, the path turns left and heads along the  bank of the Chichester Channel - an arm of Chichester Harbour that reaches inland all the way to Chichester itself.

After a slightly worrying start…

…I find a set of steps…

…that lead up to a nice path!

A short walk up this path is Roman Landing, which seems to be part of West Wittering. There are some rather expensive-looking houses to walk past…

…then I skirt some back gardens via a leafy path…

This soon emerges back at the waterside…

From here I keep going alongside the Chichester Channel for about two and a half miles until I reach West Itchenor. The clouds are thinning and the sun is coming out. It’s a lovely walk, water and salt marsh on one side, mostly farmland on the other, although maybe a bit same-y. Following the old saying about pictures/thousand words etc, here are a selection of photos…!

Arriving at West Itchenor, the path passes through a boatyard that also has a cafe! Every boatyard should have one!

Here, I am finishing for the day…