OUR SECRET SOUTH COAST
The very English coastline between Selsey Bill and North Foreland has many familiar names and famous headlands, yet few of us get round to cruising here. Perhaps it feels too ‘home waters’ for Solent boats, who tend to head west or south, while we in the West Country know little of life beyond Chichester. Yet the Channel coasts of Sussex and Kent are steeped in nautical history and some of the harbours retain their attractive working characters. Littlehampton still has its riverside hards and wharves, and Shoreham bustles with coasters.
Newhaven is a slightly scruffy yet pleasantly salty time warp with cross-Channel vibes. East of Beachy Head, Eastbourne, is a handy bolthole before you pass Pevensey Bay, where William the Conqueror was borne ashore. You can’t miss Hastings pier and further east Rye Bay curves in towards the narrow tidal entrance to Rye harbour and the River Rother, a picturesque curiosity well worth visiting at high water.
Dungeness has a classic passage anchorage and is an amazing place to wander – low and desolate, its two huge power stations dwarfing the 140ft lighthouse.
Best known as a ferry port – and now a Chunnel terminal – Folkestone has a small drying harbour and you should look in here to savour the atmosphere. This once stylish resort has a romantic history as the terminus for the London boat train. Dover is a snug stopover and the legendary Downs anchorage was used by ships of all nations in the days of sail, waiting
