With gently sloping, sugar-white sands, calm waters and a balmy microclimate, West Wittering beach is an uncommercial family paradise, sheltered by the Isle of Wight and the South Downs. The sea is very popular with surfers, kite surfers, windsurfers and SUPs. There is plenty of opportunity to hire equipment and organise lessons from 2XS which is located at the entrance to the beach car park right on the beach.

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 1^st May and 30^th 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.

The beach car park is large and you can turn up and pay on the day but to avoid disappointment in the busy holiday periods it’s advisable to book ahead via the West Wittering Estate website.  There is a beachfront café in the car park 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