Apuldram

Tiny rural parish with a medieval church, the Apuldram Centre plant nursery, and farmland stretching to the harbour.

Apuldram is a tiny rural parish lying between Fishbourne and the harbour shore, one of the quietest and least populated areas in the Chichester district. The parish consists of scattered farms, a few houses, and the medieval church of St Mary the Virgin, which stands alone in the fields and is one of the most atmospheric small churches in Sussex. Apuldram Lane, running south from the A259 near Fishbourne, is the main access route and passes through flat, open farmland. The Apuldram Centre, a charity that provides supported employment and horticultural training for adults with learning disabilities, operates a popular plant nursery here. The church has a Norman font and medieval fabric, and the building retains a simplicity that reflects the unchanged character of the parish. The churchyard is peaceful, and the views from the church across the fields to the harbour are of a quality that few places in the area can match. For Fishbourne residents, Apuldram provides some of the best local walking, with footpaths crossing the farmland and following the harbour edge. The area feels genuinely rural despite being barely a mile from the A259.