West Wittering is a pretty West Sussex village lying to the east of the entrance to Chichester Harbour, best known for its blue-flag beach. With gently sloping, sugar-white sands, calm waters and a balmy microclimate, the area is an uncommercial family paradise, sheltered by the Isle of Wight and the South Downs. The waters are very popular with surfers, kite surfers, windsurfers and SUPs. There is plenty of opportunity to hire equipment and organise lessons from both 2XSon the beach at West Wittering or at Shore Watersports in the neighbouring village of East Wittering.
East Head lies at the entrance to Chichester Harbour. It is owned by the National Trust and is one of the last pieces of natural coastline in the county. It is a very important place for wildlife and the National Trust works particularly hard to protect birdlife on the dunes. It is an ideal place to walk with your dog or just relax and watch the boats sailing in the estuary. It is also the best spot in the area for hide and seek and jumping off sand dunes.
The stretch of beach directly in front of the West Wittering beach car park and the brightly coloured beach huts is the most popular. The sand here is the whitest and the softest but this particular area does get very busy in peak season. If you are staying in peak season, you only need to walk a little bit further east towards the village of East Wittering to find more space. The beach is just as nice a little further away from the crowds, especially at low tide. Shhh, don’t tell everyone that though.
The beach is very popular with dog walkers throughout the year, although there are restrictions on where dogs can go on the beach between 1st May and 30th September. Dogs are not allowed on the beach at all between groynes numbered 14a to 18, which is basically the area in front of the line of beach huts. You can walk dogs on a lead through the car park to access East Head, which is dog friendly all year around. Dogs are also free to walk on the rest of the beach but you are requested to keep them on a lead on the stretch in front of Shore Road in East Wittering and again in front of the car park at Bracklesham Bay, where you will find the wonderful restaurant Billy’s on the Beach.
The beach car park is large but it does get busy in the summer months and on the May bank holiday weekends. Tickets for the carpark must be booked through Just Park. There is a beachfront café if you don’t want to pack a picnic.
The village of West Wittering itself and all of the accommodation, is set back from the beachfront. It has a lovely café called The Landing and a good pub, The Wittering. There are also a few useful shops including a small convenience store, a hairdressers, an excellent butcher’s Tessiers and a beautiful gift shop called New Waves Box