First Weekend at Home

The weather has been so warm and sunny this weekend (not unusual in this part of the world) it’s weird to think it’s November.  So we ‘ve taken the ‘chance’ to get Oscar out and about and give him some different walks to his normal beach outings.

Yesterday (Saturday) we took the car all of 2 miles to the lovely Pagham Harbour nature reserve.  Fortuitously the tide was in which makes it prettier to look at as there’s less mud!

A view across Pagham Harbour with the Village of Pagham to the left in the distance and the sea (The English Channel) out to the right.

Today we took the car in the other direction for about 20 minutes to arrive at Bosham (pronounced Bozam).  This is one of the prettiest villages on the waterfront around here and is situated within the huge expanse of Chichester Harbour.  Bosham is well known for its road and car park being flooded twice a day when the tide comes in.  Visitors are well advised not to forget they have parked their car at the waterfront!  It’s a local sport to watch and wait to see whether all the cars are retrieved in time – quite often the rewards are worth the wait!

Bosham waterfront where the swans swim freely in the road.

Doug and Oscar in the “High Street” which is very narrow and lined with old cottages and houses.  The doors in some of the buildings in Bosham are made to withstand high tides and storm surges and, as in this photo, don’t reach the ground!

Bosham is the oldest site of Christianity in Sussex with parts of the church dating back to Saxon times – in fact most of the tower is Saxon.  The Bayeux Tapestry shows Bosham Church with King Harold entering it. 

Bosham is also a popular place for dingy sailing and racing.

We completed a walk around the village (at Oscar speed) – well the bit that wasn’t under water,  and finally ended up at the pub.  The Anchor Bleu is a great old pub which is good for beer and food and there is a small terrace overlooking the water (which is good for relaxing with a beer and taking part in the local sport!)

The Anchor Bleu with the sea against its walls and half way up the road.

Bosham is a very busy place in the summer months – especially the pub – but at this time of year, with the weather as glorious as it has been today, it’s a lovely place to visit.