Fishbourne Creek

The tidal inlet that connects the village to the harbour

Fishbourne Creek is the narrow tidal inlet that extends northward from Chichester Harbour towards the village. At high tide, the creek fills with water and connects Fishbourne directly to the harbour system. At low tide, it drains to mudflat, revealing the channels and the feeding grounds of wading birds.

The creek is not navigable for anything larger than a kayak or a dinghy at the right state of the tide, but it provides the village's most direct connection to the water. The path along the creek bank is a popular walking route, offering views across the mud and saltmarsh to the wider harbour.

Historically, the creek was more significant than it appears today. In the Roman period, when sea levels and harbour depths were different, the creek may have been navigable by small vessels, and the military supply base established at Fishbourne after the AD 43 invasion would have used the harbour and its channels for logistics.

The creek's wildlife is rich. Wading birds feed on the mudflats at low tide, and the saltmarsh edges support a specialised plant community. Little egrets are commonly seen, and the patient observer may spot a kingfisher along the creek banks.

The management of the creek and its margins falls within the remit of the Chichester Harbour Conservancy, which balances the needs of nature conservation with those of recreation and navigation across the harbour as a whole.