This meandering walk around Bosham is the perfect excuse for a summer’s day out exploring.
Bosham is a delightful place to while away some time, and our stroll enables visitors to explore inland and lesser-known parts of the village as well as the stunning coastal paths. Given to the National Trust in 1934, Bosham Quay Meadow is a wonderful green space to linger, picnic and play. Children splash in the millstream, and adults too are spellbound by the fluctuating tidal view, the coastal light and a hum of activity at the local sailing club.
Many years ago, King Harold set sail from this harbour, and Bosham is the first place mentioned in the Sussex section of the Domesday Book. Christian worship has taken place at Bosham for more than 1,000 years, and the Holy Trinity Church is worth exploring to appreciate connections with the Bayeux Tapestry and the diffusion of light through the early English lancet window.
The magnificent chancel arch is made of Quarr stone which suggests it was built during the early years of the Norman period. Look out too for a fascinating project, The Men Behind the Names, which portrays the local men remembered on Bosham War Memorials.
Information
Location: Bosham
Distance: 3.7 miles (6km). An hour and a half plus stops.
Terrain: some inland paths across crop fields may be overgrown so avoid wearing shorts.
Tides: at high tide, a short beach section is inaccessible. Use our alternative street route or consult www.sussex-tides.com/bosham-tide-times to avoid this.
Easy access: explore the water's edge (points 1 and 2) and Bosham Quay. Wheelchair accessible WC in the car park.
Where to park: Bosham Lane pay and display car park. Sat nav PO18 8HT.
Map: OS Explorer 120 Chichester.
The walk
1) Follow the signpost to the harbour and village. Turn left at the road and walk past the craft centre.
2) Turn left through a gap in a flint wall near the end of Bosham Lane, opposite Breeze Café. Walk along this footpath and, at the waymarker, continue over a footbridge. At the end, turn left along The Drive past a post box. Walk a few steps.
3) At the waymarker, turn right along a narrow footpath. Emerge at a cottage and cross the road.
4) Walk straight ahead along a signed footpath through a crop field. Cross a footbridge over a stream, take a few steps right, then turn left at the signpost. This stony track runs between hedge and crops. At the next signpost, veer right past a house and walk around the field. At the far corner, continue past a hedge and walk to the end of a fenced footpath.
5) Turn left along the lane.
6) After Withy Cottage, leave the road to walk straight ahead on a signed footpath along the side of a crop field. See distant red-brick buildings to your right.
7) At the signpost by the hedge corner, turn left. At the next field, continue straight ahead along a narrow track beside a hedge. Walk straight on past a waymarker. Continue straight ahead along the edge of the next field until you reach the road.
8) Walk straight ahead, taking care with traffic. Pass several lanes, Bosham School and Village Hall. At the junction, pass The Berkeley Arms and walk straight on.
9) Turn right along Critchfield Road. Follow the road around to the left. Cross a bridge over a stream. Walk straight ahead along Westbrook Field, passing a waymarker in the central hedge. Glimpse the estuary ahead. At the water's edge and signpost, walk left along a gravel track.
10) Go through a gate into the old shipyard. See the quay and walk to the right of the wall to continue along the beach. (High tide diversion: turn left along the gravel footpath. At the end of Windward Road, turn right. At the end of Moreton Road, turn right and continue back along Bosham Lane)
11) Leave the beach at a waymarker beside a timber-framed house. Walk along the footpath, passing a slipway and a gate.
12) Arrive at Bosham Quay. Continue along the lane past the church and The Anchor Bleu. Arrive back at Bosham Lane.
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