Worthing – Coastal Road Trip

Day 40 – Worthing to Highcliffe

On day forty we started the next of our mini four day Coastal Road Trips, this time from Worthing in West Sussex to Plymouth in Devon. Today we are heading as far as Highcliffe in Dorset, and the weather looks super for the end of October.

Photo of the day

Coastal Road Trip, St Leonards Grange, Sunstar, Sunbeam, Lane, Road, Tree, Brockenhurst, Hampshire — Dappled sunlight along the coastal country lane between Buckler’s Hard and Lymington.

Bognor Regis

Coastal Road Trip, Bognor Regis, Beach, Pier — We tried to make Elmer, west of Worthing, our first stop of the day, but we couldn’t find a way to the beach (seemed private access only). So we continued passed the local Butlins to Bognor Regis Beach, with views west towards its pier.

Coastal Road Trip, Bognor Regis, Beach — Further along Bognor Regis Beach, and the view towards Pagham.

Selsey

Coastal Road Trip, Selsey, East Beach — We then drove down the Manhood Peninsula towards Selsey Bill. Doesn’t the beach look familiar? To be honest many of the beaches along the West Sussex coastline seemed quite similar, nothing wrong with that, but just made the photos look quite similar too!

Coastal Road Trip, Selsey, Grafton Road, Tower — An interesting tower above what turned out to be a care-home, overlooking the most southerly point of Selsey’s Beach.

East Whitering

Coastal Road Trip, East Whitering, Beach, View to Porstmouth, Bracklesham Lane, Bracklesham Bay — Catching our first glimpse of Portsmouth’s Spinnaker Tower in the distance as we looked west along the coast from East Whitering’s Bracklesham Bay.

Chichester

Coastal Road Trip, Chichester, Bill's, Coffee, Sister, Julian, Jarno — Dropping in for a quick coffee with Julian’s sister and brother-in-law in the county town of Chichester. We ended up with a bit of a family day as we stayed with Julian’s parents in the evening, and also popped into visit one of his brother’s and his family.

Hayling

Coastal Road Trip, Hayling Island, Beach, Seafront, View of Portsmouth — Hayling Island’s seafront, with the Funland Amusement Park just further down the beach.

Coastal Road Trip, Hayling Island, Beach, Seafront, Beach Huts — Yay, more beach huts to add to our beach-hut-photo-collection 😉

Eastney

Coastal Road Trip, Eastney, Beach, Seaguls, Esplanade — Plenty of Seaguls at Eastney Beach.

Coastal Road Trip, Eastney, Beach, Beach Huts, Esplanade — A pair of legs enjoying the October sunshine!

Coastal Road Trip, Eastney, Royal Marines Museum, Statue, Sculpture, Esplanade — The Yomper Statue outside the now closed Royal Marines Museum (which will be moving to Portsmouth’s Historic Dockyard).

Southsea

Coastal Road Trip, Southsea, Southsea Castle Lighthouse — Southsea Castle from the 16th century, and its lighthouse from the 1820s, overlooking the Solent.

Coastal Road Trip, Southsea, Portsmouth Naval Memorial, Southsea Common — The Portsmouth Naval Memorial on the front of Southsea Common as we entered Portsmouth.

Portsmouth

Coastal Road Trip, Portsmouth, Harbour Entrance, Solent, Yacht, Ferry, Pilot Boat — The Solent and the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour were bustling with activity, with all kinds of boats, ships, yachts, ferries…

Coastal Road Trip, Portsmouth, Harbour Entrance, Solent, Hovercraft, Yacht, Fort Monckton — … and hovercraft, sailing off in all directions.

Coastal Road Trip, Portsmouth, Harbour Entrance, Solent, Spitbank Fort, Yacht — Spitbank Fort sitting in the Solent, now a luxury hotel and venue. We checked the price for a night stay, it was a little on the high side…. but afternoon tea is a little more reasonable 😉

Coastal Road Trip, Portsmouth, Spinnaker Tower — One of Portsmouth’s latest landmarks, the Spinnaker Tower that was opened in 2005. We then drove past Portsmouth’s Historic Dockyard. There seemed to be a lot to see and do, so we’ll be back when we have more time to explore properly.

Calshot

Coastal Road Trip, Calshot Castle, Calshot Spit, Fawley, Calshot — We then skirted around the Southampton Water, past Hamble, Southampton and Hythe and back down to Calshot Castle at the end of a spit overlooking The Solent.

Coastal Road Trip, Fawley, Refinery, Calshot Spit, — The views of Fawley Refinery, reminding us of Day 2’s view from Pembroke to Milford Haven.

Coastal Road Trip, Calshot, Redjet, Hi-Speed ferry, Yacht, Solent — Calshot Castle was a great vantage point for viewing the busy Solent.

Lepe

Coastal Road Trip, Lepe, Lepe Country Park, Solent, Yacht — Our next stop at the Lepe Country Park. The views across the Solent to Cowes on the Isle of Wight (and into the sun, hence the glow!).

Coastal Road Trip, Lepe Lighthouse, Beaulieu River Millennium Beacon — Lepe Lighthouse (AKA Beaulieu River Millennium Beacon) sticking out above the trees, just after Lepe Country Park.

Beaulieu

Coastal Road Trip, Beaulieu, Mill Dam, River, The Mill House — Crossing over the Beaulieu River, we stopped to take pictures across the Mill Dam at Beaulieu.

Buckler’s Hard

Coastal Road Trip, Buckler's Hard, Beaulieu River — Buckler’s Hard on the west side of the Beaulieu River.

Coastal Road Trip, St Leonards Grange, Sunset, Fields, Meadow, Tree, Brockenhurst, Hampshire — Continuing on the coastal road from Buckler’s Hard, there were beautiful views across the fields near St Leonards Grange.

Coastal Road Trip, St Leonards Grange, Sunstar, Sunbeam, Lane, Road, Tree, Brockenhurst, Hampshire — Loved the soft sun-rays, and the dappled light on the country lane as we continued to Lymington.

Lymington

Coastal Road Trip, Lymington, Harbour, Marina, Yachts, Boats — As we continued into the New Forest, we arrived at the major yachting harbour and marinas at Lymington, home to several world famous sailing regattas.

Coastal Road Trip, Lymington, Quay Street — The cobbled Quay Street.

Keyhaven

Coastal Road Trip, Keyhaven, Boats, Hust Castle, Milford on Sea, Lymington — We stopped by Keyhaven near Milford on Sea, as we were curious if we could see Hurst Castle in the distance (we couldn’t). The ferry to Hurst Castle leaves from Keyhaven, but we had missed the last one of the day.

Milford on Sea

Coastal Road Trip, Milford on Sea, Milford-on-Sea, Cliff Road, View to Hengistbury Head and Swanage, Sunset, Jarno — Jarno filming from the top of the cliffs at Milford on Sea, towards Hengistbury Head and Swanage.

Barton on Sea

Coastal Road Trip, Barton on Sea, Marine Drive East, View to Hengistbury Head and Swanage, Sunset, Dusk — As the sun set, we made our final stop of the day at Barton on Sea, before continuing to Highcliffe for the night.

Daily video

Day 39 – Rye to Worthing

Today we are driving from historic Rye in East Sussex along the coast to Worthing in West Sussex. Storm Ophelia was approaching the UK today. As the day progressed we started to see a very unusual dark and orange looking sky, caused by the storm pushing Sahara sand and Iberian wildfire smoke our way.

Photo of the day

Coastal Road Trip, Seaford, Beach, Sahara sand, Iberian wildfire smoke dust, Storm Ophelia — Seaford Beach, with Storm Ophelia on its way.

Rye

Coastal Road Trip, Rye, Cobbled Street — Our first stop of the day in Rye, the small ancient town was so quaint with its cobbled streets.

Coastal Road Trip, Rye, St Mary Church, Cobbled Street, Julian, Jarno — St Mary Church’s turret clock is the oldest working clock of its type in the country.

Coastal Road Trip, Rye, St Mary Church, Church yard, Park, Bench — Tudor houses fronting on to the churchyard.

Coastal Road Trip, Rye, Ypres Tower — The 13th century Ypres Tower town defences. In 1377 the church and town had been looted, set on fire and destroyed by French invaders!

Coastal Road Trip, Rye, Cobbled Street — The steep cobbled Mermaid Street. Although it was an early Monday morning there were already a few other tourists pottering around. Glad we hadn’t been here on a busy summer weekend.

Coastal Road Trip, Rye, Rye Harbour — The town is now 2 miles inland as a result of the River Rother starting to silt up 500 years ago. So we drove down to the coast to view Rye Harbour.

Winchelsea

Coastal Road Trip, Winchelsea Beach, Waves — Winchelsea Beach. The town, a bit further inland, dates back to the 13th century. It was Britain’s first properly planned ‘new’ town.

Hastings

Coastal Road Trip, Hastings, Rock-a-Nore Beach, East Hill — The view from The Stade at Hastings back to Rock-a-Nore Beach and East Hill.

Coastal Road Trip, Hastings, The Stade, Beach, The Old Town, Fishing Boats, Julian, Jarno — The Stade Beach in front of Hastings Old Town.

Coastal Road Trip, Hastings, Net Shops, The Stade, The Old Town — The tall black wooden Net Shops on the beach front at Hastings. They were used to dry fishing nets.

Coastal Road Trip, Hastings, The Stade, Net Shops, Hastings Miniature Railway, Turntable, The Old Town — The recently restored Hastings Miniature Railway.

Coastal Road Trip, Hastings, The Old Town — Looking up All Saints Street in The Old Town.

Coastal Road Trip, Hastings, The Old Town, All Saints Street — We had just walked past The Crown Pub, which had just been voted the best place to have a pint in the UK. Unfortunately we only read that after leaving Hastings….

Bulverhythe

Coastal Road Trip, Bulverhythe Beach, Beach Huts — More colourful beach huts on Bulverhythe Beach, just a few miles west of Hastings.

Bexhill-on-Sea

Coastal Road Trip, Bexhill-on-Sea, Promenade, Channel View, Tea beside the sea — The elegant Bexhill-on-Sea Promenade.

Coastal Road Trip, Bexhill-on-Sea, De La Warr Pavilion, Promenade — The De La Warr Pavilion on the sea front at Bexhill, now a local centre for contemporary art. Bob Marley had his first ever UK performance there too.

Cooden Beach

Coastal Road Trip, Cooden Beach, White Beach Huts — Driving past some rather large houses we reached Cooden Beach.

Eastbourne

Coastal Road Trip, Eastbourne, Eastbourne Beach, Beach Huts — Yet more colour-coordinated beach huts along Eastbourne Beach.

Coastal Road Trip, Eastbourne, Eastbourne Pier, Beach — The view along Eastbourne Beach to the pier. By now we were starting to see the weird coloured pre-Storm Ophelia sky.

Coastal Road Trip, Eastbourne, Eastbourne Pier, Beach, Truck, CAT, caterpillar — Caterpillar trucks were shifting around shingle on the beach, to restore the sea defences in preparation for winter storms.

Beachy Head

Coastal Road Trip, Beachy Head, Beachy Head Lighthouse, Cliffs — Really dramatic views over the chalk cliffs at Beachy Head to the Lighthouse.

Coastal Road Trip, Beachy Head, Beachy Head Lighthouse, Cliffs, Julian, Jarno — Don’t look down….. you could walk right up to the cliff edge!

Coastal Road Trip, Beachy Head, Belle Tout Lighthouse, Cliff — Belle Tout Lighthouse, now a private residence. In 1999 it had to be moved 17 meters back from the cliff edge to save it falling off due to coastal erosion. It was featured in the BBC’s ‘The Life and Loves of a She-Devil’ and James Bond’s ‘The Living Daylights’.

Coastal Road Trip, Beachy Head, Belle Tout Lighthouse, Old Foundations, Birling Gap, Seven Sisters — Parts of the original building and foundations, right on the cliff edge. In the distance you can see the cliffs of the Seven Sisters past Birling Gap.

Birling Gap

Coastal Road Trip, Birling Gap, Seven Sisters, National Trust, — The bright white Seven Sisters chalk cliffs viewed from the National Trust managed Birling Gap.

Seaford

Coastal Road Trip, Seaford, Beach, Sahara sand, Iberian wildfire smoke dust, Storm Ophelia — It felt like the end of the world. The lighting was totally surreal. Such a dark sky in the distance over Newhaven, contrasting against the bright blue-green sea, and the warm colours of the pebble beach. Storm Ophelia was on its way.

Coastal Road Trip, Seaford, Beach, Beach Huts, Sahara sand, Iberian wildfire smoke dust, Storm Ophelia — Another palette of candy coloured beach huts on Seaford Beach.

Newhaven

Coastal Road Trip, Newhaven, Port, Lighthouse, Breakwater, Sahara sand, Iberian wildfire smoke dust, Storm Ophelia — The lighthouse at the end of the breakwater at Newhaven, we had also seen it in the distance from Seaford.

Coastal Road Trip, Newhaven, Fort, Sahara sand, Iberian wildfire smoke dust, Storm Ophelia — The path down to Newhaven Fort, with Seaford Bay in the background. The fort was the largest defence built on the Sussex coastline.

Brighton

Coastal Road Trip, Brighton, Pier, Beach, Sahara sand, Iberian wildfire smoke dust, Storm Ophelia — As we know Brighton well, having had our UK base and home there for the last few years, we just stopped briefly to take photos of the famous Brighton Pier (AKA Brighton Palace Pier).

Coastal Road Trip, Brighton, Pier, Beach, Sahara sand, Iberian wildfire smoke dust, Storm Ophelia — The Brighton Pier is now the only surviving pier at Brighton, the Royal Suspension Chain Pier was its predecessor, but you can still see remains of the West Pier opposite the British Airways i360 tower.

Hove

Coastal Road Trip, Hove, Beach Huts, Promenade, Beach, Sahara sand, Iberian wildfire smoke dust, Storm Ophelia — The long promenade at Hove, Brighton’s coastal neighbour.

Southwick

Coastal Road Trip, Southwick, River Adur, Fishing Boat, Sahara sand, Iberian wildfire smoke dust, Storm Ophelia — Actually we didn’t stop at Southwick, but we got stuck in a traffic jam along the River Adur, so managed this picture of a fishing boat from the car window.

Lancing

Coastal Road Trip, Lancing, Beach Hut, Sahara sand, Iberian wildfire smoke dust, Storm Ophelia — Lancing beach was really busy with kite-surfers, unfortunately the photos were pretty terrible (I blame the weird pre-storm lighting), but we caught them on video, check below.

Coastal Road Trip, Lancing, Beach, Worthing Pier, Sahara sand, Iberian wildfire smoke dust, Storm Ophelia — Looking west towards Worthing Pier in the distance.

Worthing

Coastal Road Trip, Worthing, Worthing Pier, Beach, Sahara sand, Iberian wildfire smoke dust, Storm Ophelia — Worthing, our final stop on this four day part of our Coastal Road Trip. The original pier dates back to 1862 though through fire and storm damage it has been rebuilt and updated many times over the years.

Daily video