Cycling to Seal Bay: Embracing the outdoors in West Sussex

By HILARY GAVIN

YEARS ago I bought a T-shirt emblazoned with the words “Life is a bike, enjoy the ride” which I still occasionally wear.

Yes, I know it’s seen better days and I mostly use it as a pyjama top or when I’m gardening but – saying that – I might just put it on to cycle to my caravan holiday let at the Seal Bay Resort, Selsey.

Of course, the spiralling cost of petrol has played a part in my decision to “get on my bike” – to appropriate the phrase adopted by the Conservative Cabinet Minister Norman Tebbit in the 1980s.

There’s little doubt I’ve been working my little socks off cleaning and managing my caravan holiday let at Seal Bay over the past few weeks in the hope my efforts will pay off in the long run.

Now, I’m not a sadist, but I should say that I enjoy exercise in the fresh air and manual work because it enables me to slow down and unwind which gives me time to mull life over.

If you’re follow me on Facebook, you’ll know that I posted a video of my May Day stroll along the Chichester Canal from Hunston to Chichester Marina – or whatever it’s called nowadays.

Of course, I remember the canal as a child growing up in Stockbridge, Donnington, and I’m so pleased that it is now a haven for wildfowl after many decades of neglect.

At this point, I think it’s best to signpost you to the Chichester Ship Canal website (see link below) for a more exact history of the London – Portsmouth Barge Route, opened in 1822, than mine.

Home

If you’re visiting Chichester, you can find out more about this fascinating waterway at the Chichester Canal Heritage Centre at the canal basin next to city’s Royal Mail Delivery Office.

On a personal note, I was interested to read that the barge route was excavated to transport gold bullion from Portsmouth via Langstone Harbour and the Salterns at Chichester Harbour to Ford and the River Arun at Arundel where barges travelled up to Guildford in Surrey and the Wey Navigations to London.

As some of you may know, I once lived in a cottage beside the Wey Navigations in the village of Send close to Ripley, off the A3, which has a proud late Victorian cycling heritage.

Of course, I remember the excitement in Ripley when top cyclists raced through the village competing in the London Olympics 2012 and I chronicled this event in my Select Local magazine.

If you watched my Facebook video of my stroll, you’ll know I caught the No 53 Stagecoach bus to the seaside village of Bracklesham Bay where I walked to Earnley and the Medmerry reserve.

Once again, I have to admit that I’ve yet to get up to speed on the Medmerry Realignment project enacted more than a decade ago when the Manhood Peninsula’s coastal defence system was relocated inland to reintroduce mudflats and saltmarshes.

The weather on May Day was glorious and I enjoyed my hike along the bridle and cycleways and on the manmade clay embankment at the Medmerry nature reserve with its panoramic coastal views.

Of course, Coastal Partners are beavering away exploring how to protect homes by Holding the Line at Selsey and Manhood’s villages whilst preserving marine and inland wildlife.

Sadly, I’ve been busy confronting modern life over the past year so I had no spare time to visit Coastal Partners‘ recent display in Selsey but I’m posting a link to their website for you to consult.

Home — Coastal Partners

If I’m being honest, I find it frightening to think that it’s been more than a year since I attended Coastal Partners’ talk at Selsey Town Council‘s annual meeting in March 2025 (see link).

At the time, I wrote a colour piece on the meeting when I brought up King Canute‘s (Cnut) futile attempt to hold back the waves at Bosham in Chichester Harbour in Anglo-Saxon times.

Saying that, I also mentioned that I believe that we – as human beings – learn from past mistakes so I, for one, am putting my trust in the experts to protect our local homes and environment.

Saying this, I am aware of the flooding at the Medmerry Holiday Park at Bracklesham Bay in April 2024 and the ongoing claims for compensation by affected leaseholders (see link to BBC News).

Leaseholders waiting for Medmerry Holiday Park compensation – BBC News

At the end of the day I suppose it all goes to show that WE – as individuals – are mere actors on the global stage and we will all struggle to survive if we don’t pull together to protect our planet.

And I will be playing my part by cycling to work!

By HILARY GAVIN

Who are you calling a grumpy old woman?

Selsey Seaside: Funding coastal defences to protect homes – Hilary Gavin

Hilary Gavin

Freelance Journalist & Writer

6 Southover Way

Hunston

CHICHESTER

West Sussex

PO20 1NY

Tel: 07940 444664

Email: grumpywoman@hilarygavin.blog

Hilary Gavin

Cycling to Seal Bay: Embracing the outdoors in West Sussex

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