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.
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