Bognor to Hove, and home

Part 2 of the Selsey to Bognor and beyond ride ...

I had been looking forward to the stretch between Bognor and Brighton for several years.  In my dreams it was all flat, along the sea front, with a following wind.  It isn't quite like that, although I did have a hefty tail wind.

There are bits which are lovely: around Bognor for example.  But there were several long stretches between Pagham and Shoreham where the roads near the sea are part of private housing estates, designed to make it difficult to connect up into a route. And this wasn't apparent from the map until you got to a bit of footpath that was across the shingle, or along grass, up steps and so on.  In one case, a very elaborate and tall kissing gate more like a football turnstile, ok for a slender person to pass through but impossible for a bike.

Along the shingle ...

At times I was flying along, at others it was slow progress.  The ride went like this;  Pagham to Bognor: faffing through private estates.  Bognor: lovely seafront riding for many miles, then impenetrable private estates; I abandoned and went on the main road cyclepath to Climping.

 

Bognor

Climping: sad to see the beach café and car park closed.  The whole area has been earmarked for "managed retreat" from rising sea levels, so one day it will be flooded by the sea.  Littlehampton:  a bit of sea front then round the back streets to Angmering (nice tea stop).  There was a mile or so of stony track and back streets at Ferring,  but then the rest of the day's ride was on tarmac, mostly on the sea front.

The old cafe in the distance,
and old car park, blocked off

Climping beach

Bridge into Littlehampton 

Littlehampton - mouth of the river Arun

Soon after Ferring came Worthing, then Shoreham by Sea which many of us have ridden to.  I did a bonus loop to the end of the seaside before doubling back along the river (Adur) to cross over the bridge.

Worthing

Inland 'sea' on the approach to Shoreham

River Adur at Shoreham 

From Shoreham to Hove is an interesting ride: NCN2 goes across some big locks at Shoreham docks, then continues on the sea side of the docks for probably 2 miles before the docks end!  By then you're only a mile or two from Hove.

Shoreham port

It's difficult to write much about the big towns of Bognor, Worthing, Littlehampton, Shoreham and Hove.  I fairly whizzed through them on the sea front, so didn't see much of the town.  However the sea (or lack of it) looked quite similar in all of them.

I decided to end this year's trip at Hove.  It's been a great success, and I want to leave something to do next year!  It seemed a good place to pause and to return to next year, all being well.  (Writing this on Tuesday morning at home with steady rain outside makes me even more pleased that I ended the trip on a high, with dry kit.)   I returned home by Southern Rail from Hove, marking my progress around the  railway companies of Britain (first LNER, then added Scotrail, then West Coast Mainline, then Great Western, South West Railway and now Southern).

At Hove

There's been a surprising variety of riding this year.  I thought I knew most of the area, but discovered a lot of new places.  Quite a lot of off-road, generally successful.  Many gorgeous villages and towns, great views and excellent cafes and camp sites.  I've met some lovely and interesting people too.  The weather has mostly been great.  I rode for a day with my brother.  And I went to Sidmouth!   The low point of the trip was probably the rain in the Isle of Purbeck.  My legs had had enough hills at that point, but it was still impressive scenery even in the mist and rain.

Thank you for reading some, or all, of my blog ramblings.  I've enjoyed the comments, although many of them are anonymous so I'm left guessing who said what.  But they do encourage me to keep going, and to try to write something interesting.

I'll post some maps of where I went in a day or two, and a few details about mileages and so on.  The first few days were dreadful for distance ridden, but "good" for hills climbed!

Until next time!

Selsey and (nearly) Bognor

Today was such a long and varied day that I've split it into two posts: here is part 1.

East Wittering,  where I camped, is maybe 1/3 of the way round the Selsey peninsula .  It's hard to say because there's the long inlet to Chichester Harbour on the west, and a nearly-enclosed inland lagoon, Pagham Harbour, on the east side 

I had slept well despite a nearby family with a whole cricket team of kids playing and partying way past my bedtime, which was unreasonably early.   In the morning I packed away my dry tent, dry washing, and went for an early breakfast at the food kiosk.  It was all the same staff as the night before,  I think the farmer and his wife plus one other chap.

In front of me in the queue were the mums of the cricket team.  I waited while they ordered nearly all the pastries on display and several coffees to go.  No worries, I wasn't in a hurry, and it simplified my choice of breakfast.

Still very windy, from the south west so mainly helpful, but as I rode towards Selsey at the southernmost point, I occasionally visited the coast, and it was wild.  I had to chance a bit of esplanade which was occasionally getting soaked by crashing waves.

Dodgy

Selsey's fun neighbour

Selsey is a modest place with a very long stony beach on three sides.  It doesn't appear to have flashy houses or any tourist facilities,  apart from a caravan "fun park"  just outside town.  The east-facing beach was sheltered from the wind and calm, with views of Bognor in the distance, and a cyclable path along the beach.

Inspirational view of Bognor

Selsey's east beach

Dovecot

Now, I just had to ride round Pagham Harbour, which proved a lot more difficult than it seemed.  It's quite a long way, and I didn't help myself by using several bridleways and footpaths.  It was fine at first to beautiful Sidlesham Quay, then I had to go a long way north on nice tracks, until the last one, a bridleway across a rough field. Part of it was a wheat field, so dry that large cracks crossed the track.  Surely the way back south to the waterside would  be plain sailing? But no, there was a footpath with two small kissing gates to get through.

Sidlesham Quay- nice

Bridleway - Not nice

Horrid

At last I was at Pagham, by the harbour.  It was the opposite if Chichester Harbour that I visited yesterday.  The tide was in, but it looked like shallow marsh land, with  no yachts in sight.  Pagham itself had a nice cafe (lunch stop), a shop and a pub; nothing fancy.  The beach was a bit weird with a shingle beach, then a bit of sea and then a long sand bar.  Someone was practising wind surfing between the beach and the sand bar.

Pagham harbour

Causeway to Pagham

The ride around Selsey peninsula was long but very enjoyable and varied.  Just avoid the bit at the end to Pagham!  The rest was quiet, rural, with a bit of seaside and some very varied villages.  A nice 45 mile tour.  It didn't feel like the south coast of England.

Part 2 coming tomorrow...

A Special Guest

It was a wild night, but I woke up feeling excited.  Wild because it was blowing half a gale, wind roaring in the trees.  My washing had blown off the line twice before I went to sleep.  Also wild in the campsite bar, but I was too busy writing the blog for you, dear reader, to join in.

Excited, because I'm meeting someone special today, to join me on a bit of the trip.  My dear brother is joining me for some of today's ride.  I decided to roll out the sticky blue carpet for him, and treat him (and me) to breakfast in Wetherspoons. 

First, I had to battle the wind to pack up my tent, take down my washing (surprisingly, still there, AND dry).  Ride a few miles along the naval coast of Gosport, and get the Gosport ferry to Portsmouth.

HMS Warrior

HMS Queen Elizabeth? (left)

Spot the submarine
(Haslar submarine museum)

It's a funny old route today. We'll be meandering around several appendages between here and Bognor. Hayling Island, Bosham, and (especially) Selsey. Not much forward progress in a straight line.

Ready to ride

We had a lovely day.  Pete led me round the coast of Portsmouth and Southsea.  We hopped on the Hayling Island Ferry (which would have been ferry number 5 in my unlikely plan for yesterday).

Portsmouth 

Hayling island ferry

Then I led us on a tour of the south and west side of Hayling Island.  Unimpressive at first, but we found a nice waterside path and a great cafe for 11s, so I redeemed myself.

Hayling Island

Off the island on the Hayling Billy line, bounced off Havant, and headed east to our next peninsula, Emsworth, small but pretty, with an interesting causeway across the river/sea to Emsworth itself.

Emsworth 

We did a short u-shaped ride on Thornham Island, most of which is off limits to the public, and a bigger U-shape in Chidham, on pretty lanes.  Lunch at another nice cafe near Broadbridge.  Then Pete led me on a longer excursion tound the Bosham peninsula.  A big part of this was on a coastal road which is under water at high tide, but with impeccable timing (?) the tide was not just out but out out.  Very pretty area, just like being in the middle of the countryside, with the odd extra-pretty seaside bit.

Bosham

It was great to have company on the ride, but different.   There was more chatting, although I do chat to myself or nearby animals when I'm on my own.  Probably a bit less stopping for photos.  And zero blog-writing during the coffee & lunch stops.  It would have been rude.  But it means I've probably missed some of the finer points of the day.  Also we had to be careful riding two abreast when there are quite a few cars zipping around the lanes.

Pete had to get back so left me as we neared Chichester.  I headed south on the large Selsey peninsula, where I was expecting to camp somewhere.  Much of the route was on the Salterns Way, a nice off-road track which leads around the west and to the south of the island.

Salterns Way

I stopped for tea at Chichester Harbour, a giant marina with hundreds, if not thousands, of expensive boats.  There was just one problem:  the tide was still out out, so no sailing.  Instead some of them were having a rowdy party on the shore, something that the marina was only too happy to help with.

 

Chichester Harbour 

I also had a teeny problem booking a campsite at 4.30 pm on Bank Holiday Sunday.  Nearly all fully booked, except one - it was one of those "how much?" conversations.

Another ten miles to the campsite site.  I visited gorgeous Itchenor, and West Wittering,  with miles of silver sandy beaches and not much else, and got mildly sand-blasted in the strong wind.  Then East Wittering, where the sand is replaced with pebbles, and there are pubs, cafes and shops.

West Wittering 

East Wittering

The campsite was very welcoming, and I got set up, had a hot pie and a beer from their catering van, showered, and was very pleased with a good day.

Southampton and (nearly) Portsmouth

It could have been a five-ferry day today! It was an ambitious plan, but it didn't happen, for ferry-ous reasons.

Last night, there was only one option for an evening meal - a pub right opposite the camp site.  Excellent food at a high price, but I've noticed that almost all pubs on this trip have been expensive.   Is it inflation, or just staying in touristy places?

There's a change in the weather.   Freshening wind from the west, cloudy and a few rain showers.  It rained overnight, and  I woke early and decided to get packed up in the dry.  As a result I was away by 7am, on very quiet roads, just a few miles back to Yarmouth with several detours to see the sea.  There was nobody about save a few dog walkers, and the Menzies van delivering the newspapers.

Totland beach

Victoria Fort 

I rushed to Yarmouth to try to get the 8am ferry, but there wasn't one.  I had over an hour to spend in cold, windy, deserted Yarmouth, so I went exploring.   It's a very small place but there are many cafes and other tourist establishments.  None open at 8am on a Saturday.  I gave up and made my way back to the ferry booking office, and there was a tiny, bustling, fantastic coffee shop, PO41, about two doors away from the ferry.  They had FIVE people serving, and a steady stream of customers.  Excellent coffee and a superb Caramel Cornflake Brownie.  Yum.

Today I'll be making my way from Lymington around the ports and conurbations of Southampton snd Portsmouth.  It will be different ... and interesting.

Off the ferry promptly at 9.45, and very quickly I was back in the New Forest, with the wind mostly behind me.  I whizzed along, enjoying the countryside and relative flatness, to Bucklers Hard, a remnant of a shipyard that built ships like HMS Victory, but not specifically that one.

 

From there to Beaulieu was on a riverside pathway, which has nearly been converted to a cycle way.  Right at the end there was a kissing gate which required unpacking everything and lifting the bike over the fence.  Kissing was the last thing on my mind.

After Beaulieu you cross a cattle grid and you're in the New Forest proper.  There are oak woods, there are grassy commons dotted with gorse, and there are horses.  All just as it was hundreds of years ago,  except for to towers and chimneys of Fawley oil Refinery in the distance. 

I made my way south to Calshot Spit, a WW2 seaplane base, and then north again towards Hythe, where there is a ferry across the river Test.  I had read that it was suspended,  but hoped that it had resumed by now.  Sadly, not, so I got a bonus 11 miles around the head of the river at Totton.

Calshot Spit

By now my tentative plan to get to Hayling island today was looking unlikely.  It would have been 85 miles, and I knew the Hayling Island ferry only operates until 6pm (winter schedule; the website wasn't working so the summer schedule was unknown).

The detour wasn't great.  A busy road north, a few quiet roads leading to Totton, and then mostly dedicated cycle lane alongside a busy dual carriageway into Southampton.  Despite being next to the docks with several multi-storey cruise ships, it wasn't the best introduction to Southampton.  After I crossed the river Itchen, on a huge dual carriageway bridge, it quietened down as I headed south to cross the river Hamble, at the pretty village of Hamble, where there's a ferry to Warsash.

Bridge Over the River Itchen

Another problem.  The Hamble ferry stops at 4pm, and it was 4.15.  I was up a creek without a ferry, or a camp site.  Initial investigations revealed that the local campsites were full.  But there was one on the other side of the Hamble, at Gosport. 17 miles away around the head of the river.  So I did that.

Swimming hadn't occurred to me as an option

Hamble village

Apart from the mile on the A27, it was a lovely ride.  I expected it all to be quite built up, but it wasn't at all.  South of Warsash, in the areas of Hook and Meon, were some giant houses on posh roads, interspersed with tracks across the countryside.  And after Meon came Lee on Solent, with a great cycle track that took me the last four miles to the campsite.  It's been such a varied and eventful day, it's hard to describe.

The campsite was basic but great..  Good basic food at inexpensive prices.  After 75 miles, I felt I had some serious refuelling to do.

It's going to rain again overnight, but I need to do some washing,  having not done it last night.  I just hope the strong wind will dry everything after the rain stops.

Bournemouth and beyond

The campsite was a holiday park type of thing, often a bit soulless, but this one was excellent.  Great facilities,  reasonably priced hikers' tent pitches, and a decent pub.  I slept very soundly, and was up before seven; as soon as the sun came up it became much too hot to stay in bed.

Studland, name town of Studland Bay.  Blink and you miss it.  Studland Stores is about the only evidence of its existence,  but there is a short loop of a back street with a few houses and a nice looking hotel, The Pig.  Perhaps it was bigger when they were naming the bays?  Anyway I didn't blink so I saw the sights, and passed on to the strip of heathland leading to the Sandbanks ferry, which took me across the narrow entrance to vast Poole Harbour.

Lovely building in Studland

Sandbanks ferry

Today's ride promises to be flatter, drier and warmer.  The first bit from Sandbanks to Bournemouth was absolutely flat, along the sea front below some low cliffs, interrupted every so often by steep little valleys or chines, such as Branksome Chine.  At each chine there's a cafe and access up the hill to the houses above.

Bournemouth 

Bournemouth,  the first ever beach hut

Bournemouth doesn't really advertise itself to the coastal adventurer.  Just a wider than average valley where the main road briefly comes down to the sea, then back up again.  And of course, the pier is a bit of a giveaway.  Other than that, more of the same, riding along the prom in the sunshine, and dodging a few walkers.  Eight flat miles, and then a slight rise at Southbourne to go back on a road for a bit, before a lovely track around Hengistbury Head leads you to Christchurch harbour,  and the long spit of beach huts at Mudeford.

Boscombe pier

Looking back to Bournemouth and Sandbanks

Hengistbury head &
Christchurch harbour 

Mudeford beach huts

Entrance to Christchurch Harbour 

Ferry no.2

Another ferry took me across the narrow entrance to Christchurch Harbour, tide flowing out quite quickly, and then I was among the giant pines of Mudeford village.  I was skirting the New Forest with a series of villages:  Highcliffe (it's not that high), Barton, and Milton, all "-on-sea" in case you didn't know.  The Isle of Wight was getting closer, the Needles visible in the haze.

Time had flown by and I stopped for lunch at the lovely Coastal Bakery in Milford.   That's Milford On Sea, by the way.

After Milford, there are no more towns but there is a great track through Keyhaven Marshes, round the headland to Lymington.  To the south is Hurst Castle.  On the right are the tidal mudflats, and on the left are the marshes, with quite a variety of birds.   The track is on an embankment like a railway line, only it can't be, because it winds around with tight corners here and there.  Very lovely to ride on but bumpy and hard work into the wind.

Looking back to Milford harbour

The origin of the marshes

I spotted the Isle of Wight ferry coming up the river and put on a slight spurt to catch it.   But the track was longer than I thought - about 4 miles.  I dashed through lovely Lymington, across the bridge and made it just as they started loading.  There was a party of about 80 young schoolchildren on the way back from a trip to Beaulieu,  so it was a noisy crossing.  "Jack, please don't hit Mrs Smith", "I'll count to three and I want you to sit back down" and so on.  Exhausting, for me...God bless the teachers.

Lymington marina

IoW ferry (my bike bottom R)

My plan is to ride round the island clockwise, starting at Yarmouth, where I arrived. (Incidentally, this means I've now cycled Great Yarmouth to Yarmouth via one of the rather longer routes.)  I know quite a few people have done the round-the-island-in-a-day ride, the IoW Randonée.  I'm not doing that. I am doing some of the Randonée roads, with the special blue signs, but I'm also doing other bits, so I may be doing more or less miles, and hills.  We can compare notes at the end.  But I'm definitely not doing the "in a day" part of it.   I'm choosing the "with luggage, camping" option, for which you're allowed several days.  Also, the "with Purbeck legs" option, which also allows you lots more hours.

So, I headed east towards Cowes, but along some quiet roads when I could.  A few nice coastal views but mostly inland.  Cowes along the coast round the Royal Yacht Squadron, very nice, then through the town to the chain ferry.  Four ferries in one day!

Royal Yacht Squadron

Cowes

I'd phoned a camp site that I thought was achievable, to book.  "Will you be here by 6?" No, it was 16 hilly miles and I had an hour.  But it was ok, I was given instructions  on where to pitch.  This camp site definitely was on a farm - you half expected to be sharing the field with the cows.  Not too impressed with the slope of the field.   But I put up my tent, postponed a shower and scarpered to the pub for a nice pizza and apple pie.

Cowes "Floating Bridge"