Pagham

Tucked onto the West Sussex coast a couple of miles west of Bognor Regis, Pagham has managed to hang onto a sleepy, unhurried character that its bigger neighbours have long since traded away. It is really two places in one: the old village around St Thomas a Becket church, with its timber-framed cottages and cricket green, and Pagham Beach, a ribbon of shingle-front bungalows and chalets that grew up in the early twentieth century, some of them originally converted from decommissioned railway carriages.

What draws most visitors, though, is the ground beneath it all. Nearly a quarter of Pagham Harbour, a Site of Special Scientific Interest and one of the largest unspoilt stretches of coastal wetland left on the South Coast, sits within the parish. Saltmarsh, mudflats, reedbed and a long shingle spit wrap around a harbour that floods and drains with the tide, and the result is a landscape that feels a world away from the amusement arcades of nearby resorts, even though Chichester and Bognor Regis are both within easy reach.

Top things to do in Pagham

Pagham rewards slow exploring more than a checklist of sights, but there is plenty to fill a day or a long weekend.

• Pagham Harbour Local Nature Reserve (RSPB) — one of the best birdwatching sites on the South Coast, with the visitor centre at Sidlesham as a good starting point and the 1.75-mile Discovery Trail looping past the Ferry Pool. Brent geese arrive in their thousands each winter and a tern colony nests on Tern Island in summer.
• Pagham Beach — a long shingle beach backed by low dunes and beach houses, popular for walking, sea fishing and rockpooling at low tide, with wide-open views along the coast.
• Coastal walks to Church Norton and Selsey — footpaths trace the harbour's edge from Pagham round to Church Norton, with its ruined medieval chapel, and on towards Selsey Bill.
• St Thomas a Becket Church — a Grade I listed parish church at the heart of the old village, notable for its early stained glass and centuries of continuous worship.
• Pagham's Boxing Day pram race — reputedly the oldest event of its kind in the world, this fancy-dress fundraiser through the village has been a local institution for decades.
• Bognor Regis seafront and pier — a short drive or coastal path walk away, with traditional seaside amusements, a Blue Flag beach and the Hotham Park gardens.
• Chichester — the cathedral city is around seven miles inland, offering Roman city walls, the Chichester Festival Theatre, an art gallery and a busy Saturday market.

Getting to Pagham

Pagham sits just off the B2166, a couple of miles south-west of Bognor Regis and around eight miles south of Chichester, making it an easy drive from the A27 and A29. The nearest mainline station is Bognor Regis, with regular services to London Victoria via Barnham and Gatwick, and local buses connect the village to Bognor Regis and Chichester. There is no dedicated rail link into Pagham itself, so most visitors arrive by car or taxi from Bognor Regis station, and parking is available near the beach and at the harbour's Sidlesham visitor centre.

Best time to visit Pagham

Summer (June to August) brings the warmest weather for the beach and the busiest birdlife on Tern Island, while spring and fine autumn days are ideal for walking the harbour paths without the peak-season crowds. Winter has its own appeal for naturalists, as wintering wildfowl and wading birds, including large flocks of Brent geese, arrive on the mudflats between September and January. Being an exposed stretch of coast, Pagham can be breezy outside the summer months, so it suits visitors happy to pack for changeable weather in exchange for quieter beaches and dramatic winter skies.

Where to stay in Pagham

Accommodation in and around Pagham leans towards self-catering holiday homes, static caravans and beach chalets along the seafront, many available to rent by the week, alongside a handful of guest houses and bed and breakfasts in the village and in nearby Bognor Regis. Campsites and touring parks are dotted around the surrounding villages of Sidlesham, Church Norton and Bognor Regis, giving easy access to both the harbour and the beach. For a wider range of hotels, Bognor Regis and Chichester, both a short drive away, offer more choice for those wanting a conventional hotel stay.

Food and drink in Pagham

The village punches above its weight for pubs. The Lamb Inn, a seventeenth-century building with its original beams and fireplaces intact, serves ales alongside a full restaurant menu, while The Lion, said to date back to 1407 and once a haunt of local smugglers, offers a traditional pub menu with gluten-free and vegetarian options. The Bear Inn, an eighteenth-century former coaching inn with its own smuggling history, is another long-standing village local. For a wider spread of cafes and restaurants, Bognor Regis and Chichester are both close by.