The Bosham Circuit 26th July 2020

For the third week on the trot we are looking to extend our exploration of the coast of West Sussex.  This time however we are doing it on a Sunday instead of a Monday since tomorrows weather looks a bit wet.  The drive to Bosham  (apparently pronounced Bozzum) is without incident with limited traffic until we arrive at Bosham, where on a Sunday at 12pm we are surprised to find lots of tourists driving into the car park.  We belatedly realise how popular Bosham is.  Doubtless the connections with Harold Godwinson and King Canute play some part.

We decide that paying £6 to park and spend time with lots of tourists is anathema to us, so we park out of town in a small layby and get out our bikes.  This is to be another one of those visits to family history, along the lines of Deal, where Bettys’ great grandfather died.  This time it is her grandfather we are pursuing through history.  We have a number of sketches done by him in 1899 at Bosham.  We are keen to locate where they were drawn and see if we can take modern day photo equivalents.

1900 Sketch with Bosham church spire and its 2020 equivalent

We cycle along Stumps Lane to the creek which runs to the south of Bosham village.  Here we compare one of LM Noble’s sketches with the view before us.  However, his grand-daughter had a cup of tea prior to leaving home 2 hours earlier and needs to visit a place of retreat.  A ‘wild wee’ will do nicely, but of course there are no suitable places nearby, with all the tourists about.  A little disgruntled, we decide to do Bosham later in the day, hopefully when most of the tourists have buggered off.  I suspect most turn up because they have heard it is a nice place to visit, but quickly loose interest when there are no beaches, funfairs or ice cream shops. 

Bosham raises a number of intriguing questions with regard to our circumnavigation of the coast project.  What limits the coast?  Is it the extent of tidal waters, or do we ignore estuaries that potentially take us many miles up river systems like the Ouse, Trent, Severn and Thames.  We can always do the tidal waters at a later date – if we have the lifetime remaining to do so.  Ports such as Bosham have a rich seafaring history, so from a human standpoint are obviously maritime/coastal settlements.

Fortunately for us we are at liberty to return here later in the day, once we have done our 20 mile cycle tour.  Our cycling takes us along the waterfront to the south of the saltmarsh, where a sea-wall separates the arable fields from the twice-daily invasions of the sea, past the area on the map labelled ‘The Saltings’.  Whilst we elect to follow the road south, the footpath follows the sea-wall alongside the saltmarsh to the ‘Ferry’ at Ferry Barn.  Doubtless this was an important link in centuries past to West Itchenor and The Witterings.  I suspect a number of Bosham visitors today will be following this same route, since we discover the ferry is indeed operating.

Had we been walking the coast, it would have been fun to take this ferry, but we have other fish to fry and so continue along the road as far as Bosham Hoe.  Mr Wikipedia advises me that this hamlet has the second highest house prices in Sussex at an average of £1,460,000 in 2020 (Rightmove).  When we arrive outside the gates of this private estate we get into a brief conversation with a couple minding the entrance.  I ask if it is an open gardens day or similar and am advised that one day each year they have to open the estate to the public.  I am intrigued, but my genuine interest is met by deflecting comments about people walking all over the man’s lawn.  I suspect there is some sort of planning clause whereupon they have to let the great unwashed in on the last Sunday in July each year. 

Not interested in walking on his precious lawn we continue our circumnavigation of the Bosham peninsular as far as Church Farm, where we leave the public road and cycle down Hook Lane.  Here we are advised by one of those unofficial signs landowners often put up, that access is for pedestrians only and not bikes.  This is currently a moot point, with a certain amount of conflict existing between ramblers and cyclists.  Since the footpaths of England existed long before the era of the bicycle it would be reasonable to upgrade access.  This is already the case in Scotland and is being considered in Wales.  The key question is largely the behaviour of each group.  Some cyclists belt past at speed, so walkers in their path can be reasonably upset on safety grounds.  However, large numbers of us get off our bikes or cycle slowly past a walker, giving plenty of warning.  Prams and wheel chairs are permitted, so I daresay motorised wheel chairs are also.  Common sense is called for. 

We elect to continue cycling and pass one or two walkers, giving them a wide birth or dismounting as we pass.  Eventually we come out onto the upper salt marsh of the Chichester Channel opposite Apuldram Manor Farm.  The views here are breath-taking, so we decide to pause for lunch.  Alas the first spot is taken by a couple of shifty looking youths who avoid eye-contact.  However a couple of hundred yards further along we do find the perfect spot overlooking the saltmarsh.

After lunch we complete the cycle along the sea wall to Fishbourne, passing through an area of impressively tall phragmites reed bed.  This species, otherwise known as Norfolk Reed, can tolerate a limited amount of salinity so probably marks the limit of all but the highest of tides.  We are fortunate today in that we have missed the spring high tide due here at 4.55pm.  

Norfolk Reed

As with Bosham, Fishbourne was a significant port in that it was where the Roman invasion of AD 43 was supplied.  Today the remains of a Roman palace have been excavated.  A large mill pond exists on site, although the mill buildings have long gone. 

The large mill pond

Instead of following the ‘no bikes’ footpath from here, we elect to cycle along the main A259 as far as the minor road south towards Apuldram.  This is a bit of a rat-run with any tourist cars travelling from Bosham and Emsworth to The Witterings being directed this way by Mr Google.  What a pain in the arse that app can be!

Fortunately some public spirited soul has built a cycleway for those of us keen on staying alive a little longer.  This is now part of the Salterns Way which connects Chichester with East Head.  The cycle track passes alongside fields of potatoes, lettuce and courgettes.  I have never seen thousands of courgettes plants in one field and it is quite a sight to behold, although many of them have been discarded during the picking process.  The soil and climate of this part of the UK must be ideally suited to market gardening, judging by the predominance of this land use.

The Salterns Way takes us south as far as Salterns Lock, although we take a short detour to enjoy the views across the Chichester Channel from Dell Quay.  The tide is rising rapidly as it returns over the hard to float a number of yachts awaiting its waters.  The Crown and Anchor is doing a roaring post-lockdown trade, with people queuing up for Sunday lunch.

The rising tide and the Crown and Anchor at The Dell

Returning to the Salterns Way we continue south to Salterns Lock, negotiating the busy boating mecca and sea lock gates.  Crossing the latter pushing a bicycle makes social distancing awkward, but we hold our breath each time we pass within 2 metres of others.

The enormous marina at Salterns Lock run by Premiere Marinas

The bustle of the marina behind us, we follow the tow path of the Chichester Ship Canal back to Chichester, where we enjoy a covid-free Magnum and cup of coffee, before returning to Bosham along the quietest roads we can find.  However, a strong head-wind makes it feel like uphill all the way.

Returning to Bosham we are amazed by the transformation high tide has brought to the previous view we had of the village.  The whole of the salt marsh area photographed earlier has disappeared under a vast expanse of water, whilst the road we cycled south along (looking for somewhere for Betty to ‘wild-wee’) is now under water.

Bosham at low water (above) and the same scene 4 hours later

We are able to cycle to the north side of the now full creek, along a path that runs atop the sea wall and across the bottoms of the long gardens of a number of old terraced properties.  The road in front of this wall is now under several feet of water.  We eventually come out at Bosham Quay next to Holy Trinity Church which LM Noble sketched on his visit here 121 years earlier.  The church is unfortunately shut due to the Covid 19 virus.  Not only have they taken the precaution of preventing the faithful from entering the church and conducting clandestine worship, they have shut the churchyard surrounding it.  A little over the top wouldn’t you say?

The Artists impression of Holy Trinity Church