Pagham Harbour
West Sussex, England
The trail:
- Location: West Sussex, England
- Categories: Spring / Summer / Autumn / Winter / Marine west coast / Coastal / Marsh / Rural / Sea / River
- Duration: 1-5 Hours
- Distance: 5.2 miles
Walking the trail:
- Summary: Enjoy a leisurely easy walk around a nature reserve and RSPB (The royal society for the protection of birds) wetland site full of wildlife and unique coastal views. Best enjoyed during sunrise or sunset.
This trail feature is not so much a hiking trail but a section of coastal path that covers about 5.2 miles around Pagham Nature Reserve.
If you like walking around nature reserves then this place along the south coast in West Sussex is a glorious and peaceful place to visit all year round. I love the place having discovered a passion for wildlife photography during the lockdown pandemic of 2020. It's a sheltered inlet and an important RSPB (The royal society for the protection of birds) wetland site for wildlife.
I've visited the reserve quite a few times this summer already, being close to where I live in Southbourne. Every time I visit there's always something interesting to see whether it's the great views or wildlife.
I tend to visit either early morning or late evening. The area is in open countryside so sunrise and sunset make a dramatic impact on the ambience of the place. Walking around Pagham Rife pond and the North Wall at sunset watching the water birds is extremely relaxing.
So far at the reserve I've spotted Herons, Egrets, Great Crested Grebes, Coots, Black tailed Godwits, Oystercatchers, Ducks, Foxes and Cormorants. Hoping to see a short-eared owl and Kingfisher very soon, fingers crossed!
The reserve is also tidal so on low tide the reserve is one massive saltmarsh/mudflats. Check out tide times link below.
https://www.tidetimes.org.uk/pagham-tide-times
There's plenty of places to park up and access the reserve. The visitor centre is on Selsey Road. (postcode PO20 7NE) I prefer to park down side roads and walk enter at different locations. One being near Sidlesham Quay (postcode PO20 7NA) and Paghams Church Lane. (postcode PO21 4NX)
It really is a cool place to visit. I hope you enjoy some of the photos ive taken around the reserve and no doubt I'll be adding more during the different seasons.
Any questions, feel free to ask.