Sussex Coastal Walk - Stage Twelve - And Suddenly It Was Over
And suddenly, it was all over.
The final stage of our walk along the Sussex coast, the first significant walking challenge that we have set ourselves.
And achieved.
It was over.
And this final stage was a very pleasant, beautiful and quiet way to end it.
We started out in our usual fashion over recent weeks, a long drive down to Chichester and a bus trip to the coast. This time to Bosham, rapidly becoming our new favourite place. Completing this stage on a Monday, we noticed how quiet and empty the place was of tourists compared with our previous visit, which had been on a Saturday. But with the sun out and blue skies still around, with wonderful late September weather, we didn’t miss the mass of visitors at all.
We knew that this final stage would be quiet, mainly walking through the countryside on the Sussex / Hampshire border. In fact, the only really inhabited places we walked through were Bosham at the start and Southbourne at the end. So in some ways it was with little surprise that we managed to get lost almost as soon as we started, heading along the wrong road in Bosham, following the bus route back to the main coast road in error.
Although I have to say that I could think of far worse places to get lost.
Our walk took us around the beaches of Chichester Harbour, officially still part of the coastline but actually more of a trek along the edge of numerous channels and creeks. Not that we were complaining of course.
Once we had found our bearings, we started walking alongside the tidal channel moving north from Bosham and soon found the impressive, waterside properties that we were expecting. Whilst still large and, no doubt, very expensive, for some reason I warmed to these far more than in previous walks. We encountered no private estates with passive / aggressive signage reminding us of our lowly status of walkers and telling us firmly to stay off their land. Instead, we got a friendly good morning from the only person we saw, an elderly man cutting the hedge in front of a beautiful property. He could have been the gardener of course, but I prefer to think of him as part of a breed of friendly and approachable, multi-millionaire property owners that inhabit this far more welcoming part of Sussex.
After a stroll across open fields and alongside a stream, we reached the main road. Sadly, our walk entailed ten minutes or so of breathing in the fumes of busy motorists before we found the path that took us back down south towards the tiny village of Chidham.
And what a path it was, with stunning views across the creeks and channels towards Bosham and a circular route around an unnamed (as far as I could tell) bit of land jutting out into the harbour. We passed fields of crops, cabbages of all colours and beautiful orange pumpkins, alongside a number of farms. We saw hundreds of boats of all sizes, mostly moored but some travelling slowly along the channels, either going about their work or about to head down to the sea on such a lovely day.
We stopped for a break on a solitary bench looking out over Bosham, having walked for miles just to reach the other side of the channel we saw when we started earlier in the day. A beautiful view in the very warm sunshine.
We reached the foot of the headland (if that is what it was) and found a lovely footbridge that went out over the water and round to the other side. We were able to get views of so many parts of our previous walk from here, identifying Itchenor and the ferry and also the path that we had followed up from West Wittering.
With no villages on our route we had few points to navigate by other than to just follow the path, but subsequent research has confirmed that this idyllic place is called Cobnor Point. Apparently an area of salt marsh and great for bird watching, it was also perfect for taking in the activity out in Chichester Harbour, We stopped for lunch and admired the views. We sat under trees bent and shaped by the wind and under blue skies without a hint of clouds.
Truly idyllic with a very strong Mediterranean feel to it all.
After a restful lunch we headed back to the path and had to smile, We were directed down a set of rather old and rickety wooden steps onto the beach and, just like on our previous walk, discovered that the path took us along the beach for a mile or so. We checked out the warnings about flooding and incoming tides and, feeling relatively comfortable, headed off. We were much closer to high tide than we had been before, but felt that the hour or so we still had was plenty of time.
Just around the corner we came across what looked like a garden shed on the beach but were delighted to find that it was in fact a hide for watching the local Chichester Harbour seals. Despite doing our best to find one, they all remained hidden, no doubt enjoying the sunshine elsewhere.
The beach path was more than a little boggy in places and we did, mostly, enjoy finding our way around some of the wetter and deeper parts. The views from here, as with many of the other places we passed, were simply stunning, looking out over the water whilst having the footpath almost exclusively to ourselves, In fact, when we did actually pass someone else out walking, we felt just a little aggrieved to have to share our peace and beauty with others.
Once off the beach we continued to follow the footpath and found ourselves heading towards what looked like a large, enclosed lake. This was in fact part of the substantial flood defenses to hold back the sea that we continued to come across as we walked, in this case mainly constructed with very large boulders and concrete. Although at this point there were one of two homes starting to appear in the fields, it felt as if the land in general was often either at the level of the surrounding sea or just below it.
I’m not sure I would have felt totally safe here during a storm or exceptional high tide.
We had already noticed a solitary church steeple on the horizon and had used this as a guide as to what we thought could be Southbourne, our ultimate destination. The closer we got the more we were unsure, as the absence of any other buildings suggested otherwise. Following the path around the built up defenses we suddenly found ourselves unable to go any further. The path was taking us inland and, rather well hidden, we noticed a few houses that suggested we may be not too far away from our end point.
The houses proved to be the little village of Prinstead, made up of some delightful old cottages and farmhouses and, although small, was clearly full of history and, of course, expensive and desirable places to live. We stopped here, using one of the many benches to rest and contemplate our achievement in the afternoon sunshine. The town of Southbourne was no more than a few minutes walk inland and this was in effect the last view of the sea that we would get on our walk.
It was a moment to savour.
And a time for our final selfie, to match the one taken back in June at Camber, when we took our first few steps on the Sussex coast.
We had completed just over 115 miles in twelve stages of various lengths. We had pushed ourselves at times, who could forget the cliffs at Hastings, but mostly, we had walked at a pace that allowed us time to enjoy and appreciate our surroundings. So many places stood out for us, the Seven Sisters, Seaford Head, the Witterings and Itchenor to name just a few. We had, again mostly, been blessed with beautiful weather and had seen Sussex and its glorious coastline at its finest.
We had every reason to be proud of our achievement.
And, rather sadly in some ways, we started the walk up to the station at Southbourne feeling just a little disappointed that our challenge was over. There will be new walks, of course, for we have got the bug and convinced ourselves that we are not too old to do things like this. In fact, we are now determined to actively do as many challenges as possible whilst we are lucky enough to have the health and attitude required.
But a glimpse of the beautiful blue water over our shoulders as we walked away from the beach was our last for this walk. We did walk past a church with an impressive steeple (we were correct after all) on the way to the station and we joined the throng of schoolkids on the platform waiting for the train back to Chichester.
Until next time.
Stage 12 – Bosham to Southbourne Station
Date of walk - 21st September 2020
Distance walked 9.29 miles / 14.95 km
Floors climbed (using Apple Health app.) 1 floor
Ongoing totals 115.07 miles / 185.01 km / 294 floors
