Chichester Harbour

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, West Sussex and Hampshire

Chichester Harbour is one of the few remaining undeveloped estuarine systems on the south coast of England. Designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1964, it covers roughly 29 square miles of tidal water, mudflats, saltmarsh and shoreline, straddling the border between West Sussex and Hampshire. The harbour entrance lies at approximately 50.775°N, 0.917°W.

The harbour opens southward to the Solent, sheltered by Hayling Island to the west and the Selsey peninsula to the east. Its four main channels, Emsworth, Thorney, Bosham and Chichester, reach inland like the fingers of a hand, creating a deeply indented coastline of quiet creeks and sheltered anchorages.

Wildlife

The harbour is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest, a Special Protection Area and a Ramsar wetland of international importance. Its mudflats and saltmarshes support tens of thousands of overwintering wading birds and wildfowl, including dark-bellied brent geese, dunlin, grey plover and curlew. In summer, the tern colonies on the harbour islands are among the most significant on the south coast.

The saltmarsh fringing the channels is an important habitat in its own right, absorbing wave energy, filtering water and storing carbon. Like many south coast estuaries, Chichester Harbour faces long-term pressure from rising sea levels, which are gradually eroding the saltmarsh edges and changing the balance of the ecosystem.

Sailing and Recreation

Chichester Harbour has been a centre for sailing since at least the early twentieth century. The sheltered waters, reliable tidal flow and proximity to the Solent make it one of the most popular cruising and racing venues on the south coast. Sailing clubs at Bosham, Itchenor, Dell Quay and Emsworth support an active racing calendar throughout the season.

Itchenor, on the western shore of the Chichester channel, is home to the harbour master's office and the Chichester Harbour Water Tours, which operate seasonal boat trips around the harbour. Walking and cycling routes follow much of the shoreline, and the harbourside paths between Fishbourne, Dell Quay and Bosham are well used year-round.

The Harbour Villages

History on the Harbour

The harbour's sheltered waters have attracted settlement for thousands of years. Fishbourne Roman Palace, built around 75 AD at the head of a tidal creek, is the most dramatic evidence of this, but the wider harbour landscape contains Roman, Saxon and medieval remains throughout.

Bosham was one of the wealthiest manors in Domesday England and the traditional departure point for Harold Godwinson's fateful voyage to Normandy, as depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry. The Manor of Old Fishbourne was carved from Bosham's lands at the time of the Domesday survey in 1086.

At the eastern end of the same coastal system, Portchester Castle, the most complete Roman fort in northern Europe, guarded the approaches to Portsmouth Harbour. The harbour landscape connects Roman, Saxon and medieval England in a single stretch of coastline.