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Glorious Bike Rides
Glorious Bike Rides
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I’ve done this ride and it’s great. Be careful following the instructions out of the station as they only apply to platform 1. If your train arrives on platform 2 (as my London one did), you simply turn right away from the level crossing. Church Road towards North Mundham is also wrong on the route sheet as it’s a RIGHT turn, not left. However, you won’t go wrong because it’s all well signed on Route 88.
At Sidlesham, I stayed on Route 88 which brings you out at Pagham Harbour RSPB visitor centre that has a basic cafe. To rejoin the route in the book, I turned right on the main road, slipped left onto a cycle path almost immediately and along a bridleway signed to Birdham. This brings you out on Chalk Lane / Cow Lane where it’s easy to rejoin the book’s route.
The Itchenor ferry is £3 for bike and rider and great fun, especially as it appears to dump you on an island – the path is hidden from view. Bosham Shore Road was under water but you can still pass using paths on the seawall. I did do the loop after Bosham to Fishbourne but I wouldn’t recommend it as it adds nothing to the ride. Instead, stay on NCN2 which passes some lovely houses and is either off-carriageway or a mandatory cycle lane when it hits the A road.
The morning is quite bumpy on the exposed farm paths and canal path so it’s nice to get back into Chichester on a really good Sustrans route. I simply followed the cycle signage all the way back to the station. Well worth doing this ride!
Thanks, Mark, glad you enjoyed the ride. Good spot on that directions error, I’ll make the correction and upload an updated route sheet.
On the loop after Bosham, I was in two minds as that A road is pretty hostile. I wanted this route to be accessible by families so included a somewhat longer lanes route. Anyone who wants to brave the A road is free to to so, it’s noted in the text as having a cycle lane, though it’s just paint so not much protection from lorries going past at 60mph.
I throughly enjoyed this ride last weekend on a beautiful autumn day. The route is almost entirely flat which is wonderful if you’re just a casual cyclist not looking for a legbusting challenge and both the beach at West Wittering and the tow path along the canal out of Chichester were a complete revelation to me despite the fact that I don’t live a million miles away.
When I got to the slipway at West Itchenor I found that the ferry wasn’t running (it was the 1st November, last day 31st October) so I had to abandon the route and followed the Salterns Way back to Chichester which was thoroughly pleasant, a clearly signposted route, mostly off-road taking you past the interesting Chichester Marina. The only problem is when you get back into Chichester on Appuldram Lane the temptation is to turn right toward the city centre but this brings you out onto an incredibly dangerous roundabout which is impossible to cross, even on foot. Instead you must turn left and go along Westgate into the city centre.
Splendid ride. We did it in reverse because we were staying overnight at a B&B near Donnington, and took in the lovely Dell Quay as well on day two. There’s an easy-to-find cycle route along the canal and down a lane to the marina south of Dell Quay and a lovely run through farmland up to the village itself. Another cycle path through fields takes you back to the A27 underpass and from there to Chichester.
Thanks so much–have the book open now choosing the next trip.
The openstreet map doesn’t seem to work for surf and turf (it works ok for other rides so I believe my browser is working ok). It is not very important as the OS map is working but I though that was worth mentioning.
Thanks for the rides, it is great to have family rides without having to do all the research ! looking forward to do the Chichester one !
Hi Benoit
Thanks for the heads up on the OSM map issue – now fixed. Glad you’re enjoying the rides.
Jack
Thanks Jack, we did the ride last Saturday and thorougly enjoyed it. Because of the great weather the main roads were jam packed but the cycle route was very quiet, I was quite amazed ! We saw lots of wildlife, pheasants, deers, guinea fowls (escaped from a farm ?). Alternating between farmland and sea makes the ride pleasantly varied, our 11y old didn’t complain one bit (I initially though she would been exhausted after the swimming).
This is a gem of a ride – thanks Jack! We’ve now done it twice in full and a third time with a variation round the marina and taking in some other villages.
The second and third times we opted to miss out the southern loop coming out of Bosham and head straight back to Chichester along the main road. Personally I didn’t find it daunting, but appreciate it’s not for everyone (I’m used to cycling in London). As noted, Bosham Shore Road floods at high tide, but you can get round on the footpath – although the bottom of Bosham Lane was also underwater yesterday – thought we weren’t going to get to the pub without getting wet feet!
It also looks like the Itchenor ferry now runs at weekends during the winter: https://www.itchenorferry.co.uk/ferry-times-and-fares
Hi, I see some parts are on tracks – is this route ok for a road bike in current ie late Nov, weather ? Or is a hybrid bike needed ?
Hi Aadil, I would say this is one for wider tyres and mudguards except for summer when the tracks are dry. Also, you will need to check of the foot ferry is running due to the season and the Covid situation. Jack
Thanks ?, ferry seems to be running on weekend according to website. Let’s see.
Really nice loop. Feels a bit more of a “lost lane” than the other rides I’ve done from this book due to the tracks across fields. Was still pleasant on a road bike in June but definitely but would need wider tyres outside of summer. Got lost trying to find the canal towpath but think that was my own fault!
Parked the car at Bosham and started from there. A dip in the sea at Wittering was very welcome and the ferry from Itchenor was great fun but was a bit tight for time with the last one going at 6pm. Still £3 (card payments accepted) for a person+bike so glad to see it hasn’t increased since 2013!
I thoroughly enjoyed this ride today. The only problem was that the towpath was closed south of Chichester due to bank stabilization work. The sign indicated it would remain closed for the next six months. My detour took me down Mill Pond lane from the towpath to the B2021, then on a footpath into Hunston. That was manageable, but I wonder if there might be a better alternative while the towpath is closed?
Lovely ride for a sunny weekend, we stopped in West Wittering for a swim (East is pebbles and West was sandy), and Bosham for ice cream. The pub in West Wittering doesn’t do main meals outside so we went on to the Ship Inn as recommended, and managed to o fit all 6 bikes on the ferry! The roads were generally quiet and we saw quite a few other casual cyclists. The Sustrans route before East Wittering is a bit overgrown with some nettles and thorny bushes but not for too long
I’ve done parts of this route before, just to add, the itchenor ferry is now £3.50pp (bike and you), they take cash and card (contactless too)! An additional stop is Wendy’s Tea Room in Bosham (Bosham walk I believe it’s called) and Quarterdeck in Itchenor (conveniently, right by the ferry)