The coastal towns of Sussex range from the resort town of Bognor Regis in the west, to the ancient port of Rye in the east, linked by the coastal A259 road. Mainline rail links to London make many Sussex coastal towns popular with commuters wanting a more relaxed environment for them and their families to live.
Here are some of the most desirable coastal resorts to look at if you’re considering moving home.
Bognor Regis – England’s sunniest town?
Bognor Regis seafront
In West Sussex, the town of Bognor Regis developed in Victorian times as a popular seaside resort, and was where King George V convalesced in 1929. With 1900 hours of sunshine a year, the town claims to be the sunniest in the UK. Bognor Regis’s large town centre offers a wide range of shops, a theatre and cinema, serving the surrounding residential areas and villages. Perhaps the town’s most famous landmark, Butlins Holiday Camp, opened in 1960, continues to develop and attract visitors to the town.
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Littlehampton – working port with good educational facilities
Along the coast, and on the banks of the Arun River, is the seaside town of Littlehampton. This large town of some 50,000 people is 1hr 45 minutes by rail to London, and 75 minutes to Gatwick Airport. The town’s working port is also home to many small leisure boats and yachts, making Littlehampton a popular sailing destination. Three primary schools and a recently opened secondary academy offer a good education, while the popular beach is dominated by the award-winning East Beach Café, which opened in 2007.
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Worthing – great shopping and a lively cultural scene
Worthing’s pebble beach and pier have attracted visitors since Victorian times. The museum, art gallery and Pavilion Theatre provide a wealth of culture for visitors and residents alike, while the busy town centre offers over 400 shops from department stores to boutiques, pubs and restaurants. Worthing, which is 90 minutes from London by rail and 28 miles from Gatwick airport, is home to a number of annual festivals including the National Bowls Championships.
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Brighton – the most popular resort and buying destination along the coast
Ten miles along the coast lies Brighton. Burnt to the ground by the French in 1514, Brighton was reborn in the Regency period, with a wealth of terraces and the iconic Brighton Pavilion. The railway first linked Brighton to London in 1841, and the town quickly became a popular day-trip destination for the Victorians. With journey times to the capital of less than an hour, Brighton has been home to generations of commuters, and now 18 million passengers pass through its doors every year. Its beaches, piers, bars, hotels, theatres and restaurants make this a vibrant place all year round, with Brighton Pride and The Brighton Festival attracting tens of thousands to the town. Known as London-by-the-Sea, the town offers shoppers a wide range of high street chains and department stores, while The Lanes, an area of narrow streets, is home to a host of jewellers, fashion shops and collectables. More recent developments have included Brighton Marina, complete with 1,600 moorings and its own shops, restaurants, cinema,casino and leisure centre.
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Peacehaven – “new town” situated on the Greenwhich Meridian
Peacehaven has sat at the top of the white cliffs of the Sussex Coast overlooking the English Channel since it was founded in 1917. This small town was once home to wartime sweetheart Gracie Fields, who owned a number of houses in the area. Those living in Peacehaven rely heavily on the jobs, shops and services in nearby Brighton, though the town does support a small shopping centre, supermarket and a range of independent traders together with a cinema, community centre, primary schools and a secondary school. Residents enjoy a range of sporting facilities including outdoor football pitches, a leisure centre and bowls club, and steps lead down to the beach, 150 feet below.
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Eastbourne – extensive amenities and a mix of the traditional and the modern
Eastbourne has been a popular holiday destination for over 100 years, and has grown in recent years to be home to nearly 100,000 people. Away from its famous promenade and beaches, the town of Eastbourne nestles at the foot of Beachy Head, which at 531 feet is the UK’s highest chalk cliff. The Enterprise Shopping Centre sits alongside the town’s railway station, and there is a modern town centre offering a full range of shops and amenities including four theatres; The Congress, The Devonshire Park, The Hippodrome and The Winter Garden. The main A22 road links the town with London, 66 miles to the north. Eastbourne benefits from a number of parks and open spaces, and is home to the annual Eastbourne International Tennis Tournament. Families have 17 primary schools and six secondary schools to choose from, and the District General Hospital serves the town and surrounding villages.
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Bexhill-on-Sea – bustling town with a good range of facilities
The Cinque Port town of Bexhill is first recorded as a hilltop settlement in a Royal Charter in 772AD. Today’s town is a busy commercial centre, with extensive suburbs providing homes for its 40,000 inhabitants. The area is popular with fossil-hunters with finds including what is believed to have been the world’s smallest dinosaur. The town’s iconic Art Deco style De La Warr Pavilion recently underwent an £8m refurbishment and is now a contemporary arts centre. The coastal rail line links Bexhill station with Ashford to the east and Brighton to the west.
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Hastings – cultural town that is home to Europe’s largest fishing fleet
Hastings and St Leonards sit on the Sussex coast, served by the A21 and main line rail station to London. Hastings remains an important fishing port and tourist centre with a busy pier and promenade. The Priory Meadow shopping centre has nearly 60 stores with more shops in the Queens Road area of the town. Hastings Old Town is a warren of narrow street, fisherman’s sheds and, of course, fish and chip shops. The fishing fleet, which has launched from the nearby beach for 600 years, is the largest such fleet in Europe. Residents enjoy a variety of local sport, good schools, with two theatres, a cinema, museums and galleries adding to the cultural activity in the town. Two water-powered funicular railways, East Hill Lift and West Hill Lift carry passengers nearly 200 feet up the cliffs to a large park which includes the remains of Hastings Castle, built in 1070 by Norman the Conqueror four years after his invasion and the famous battle. The site of the battle and Battle Abbey, are to be found today in the small market town of Battle, six miles by road to the northwest of Hastings.
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by Mike Whiting