As retirement draws nearer, the hiking steps up, with a second, shorter walk this week. Jude comes along to retrace childhood holidays with her grandparents at Rustington. I worry about carrying buckets, spades, fishing nets, and jam jars. The tide is far out and the flat expanse of wet sand is easy to walk on.
It’s unexpectedly cold due to the wind chill, so we don’t linger and soon reach Littlehampton Harbour, where we cross the River Arun via a retractable footbridge.
We are both taken by Climping Beach, a chaotic jumble of wooden groynes, concrete defences, and gnarled trees.
The sun breaks through the clouds and the wind drops, heralding a beautiful afternoon.
Elmer Beach has novel sea defences that I’ve not seen before. A series of offshore crescent breakwaters intercept the incoming waves and create stable beaches between the fixed stone headlands.
Our day ends at Bognor Regis. The promenade runs along the back of a row of huge hangar-sized, windowless buildings. A hideous view of Butlins. Why build a holiday complex and seal off the seafront? To keep guests inside and spending money? We pass the storm-damaged, truncated pier and rest in front of Marine Park Gardens, soaking up the sun, before heading home.
Walk distance: 12 miles.
Total distance: 255 miles.
The West beach at Littlehampton (Climping) is one of my favorites on the south coast. A nice sandy beach backed by dunes and doesn’t get too busy as there isn’t much car parking nearby.
As to Butlins I agree. It looks more like a prison than a holiday camp, I never see the attraction of these places.
I agree. I was surprised to see a lot of negative reviews of Climping Beach. It looks like they were more about the car parking fees and facilities rather than the beach, which is lovely.