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A dog outside on a walk

Scenic Dog Walks of the South Coast: The Six Harbour Villages

Blog post author - Joana

by Joana Bartlett

What's in it for me?

  • Stunning Views and History: Enjoy a beautiful 10-mile walk through picturesque villages with fascinating historical sites
  • Perfect for Dogs: Dog-friendly pubs, ferry, and plenty of places for your dog to explore and enjoy
  • Convenient Travel: Start and end at Fishbourne station with easy train access, avoiding parking hassles

I have been wanting to explore a few more walks as I’m tired of doing the same dog walks repeatedly, so wanting a change of scenery I took Rolo (my dog) on a 10-mile walk (approx. 5 hours plus breaks depending on your speed) around the Six Harbour Villages walk in West Sussex and had such a great time. It is such a beautiful walk all along the shoreline of six harbour villages, with a short ferry (dog friendly) crossing to connect the loop. I caught the Southern Rail train to Fishbourne, where the walk started.

From there I walked through Apuldram, Dell Quay, Birdham, Itchenor where I caught the ferry to Bosham and walked back round to Fishbourne train station. This was such a good day out as you can mix dog walking, with the ease of getting the train to have more flexibility on the walk, with beauty, and it’s low cost.

I got my history fix, while the dog got to play in the water and created little mud boots up his legs from the stream!

There are picnic benches and amenities scattered along the walk, and tourist information spots if you wanted to get some more information on where you’re walking. Your dog has a long walk ahead, has dog friendly pubs and picnic spots to go to with you too, plenty of new things to sniff, the train is a dog friendly mode of transport, so this really makes this the perfect day out for your furry friend!

If you don’t feel quite like completing the whole loop, you can walk from Fishbourne station all the way round and stop at village 6 (Bosham) and get on the train there instead of walking back to Fishbourne. The train which stops in Bosham is the same one which goes through Fishbourne (it is the next stop) so your journey home would be no different.

It's easy to immerse yourself in history, whilst enjoying dog-friendly spots, and savour stunning views as you journey through the picturesque Six Harbour Villages in West Sussex.

The start - Fishbourne

Getting off the train in Fishbourne, it’s less than 10 minutes to the starting point of the walk. It is also home to a Roman Palace, which is the oldest Roman home in Britain so it’s absolutely worth a visit if you don’t have a very eager dog ready to walk with you (although dogs are allowed in their gardens and cafe). Even better, the palace is just a 10-minute walk from Fishbourne train station. Admission for an adult is £13, and free for children under 5. You can find more information on admissions and the palace here. When you start walking, you’ll go past the Mill Pond and meadows which are very interesting archaeologically as they’re so close to the palace.
Photo of a sign at Fishbourne

Village number two - Apuldram

I continued walking along the shoreline until I reached the second village of Apuldram. Here there’s a 13th century church, and a pretty special manor house called Rymans. It has a very unusual design and was built in the early 1400s. This isn’t open to the public, but you can go to see the gardens when they have openings! Pretty incredibly, there’s a field which used to be an airfield in World War Two which I walked past. In June 1943, an American B17 bomber plane had to make an emergency landing and one of the crew was famous actor Clarke Gable. Plus, in April 1944, General Dwight D Eisenhower flew in his Dakota into the airfield to visit a D Day operations room which had been set up in the now Chichester university. I’m sure Rolo was entirely uninterested in what I was doing, but he was having the best time running around with plenty of puddles to jump in and things to sniff. I got my history fix, while the dog got to play in the water and created little mud boots up his legs from the stream.
Closeup of a dog

Keep going to Dell Quay

Continue walking, and you'll get to Dell Quay, where you'll also find The Crown and Anchor, a grade II listed, dog friendly, pub which specialises in seafood and the quality is amazing! Stop for a break here and have some lunch or a drink for a break and you'll also overlook the harbour too. There are also some picnic benches around if you want to eat your own food and take in the view. In the 14th century, the quay was rated 7th most important port in England! It started becoming more important from early 13th century exporting grain, timber, and wool with imports of wine, cloth, and coal. Today, Dell Quay is popular for walking, fishing, paddle boarding, kayaking and sailing. Rolo was thrilled we were continuing the walk, so after plenty of sniffs and running around the beach, we continued walking towards Chichester marina which is so beautiful and a great spot with a pebbled beach!

Birdham is next

Keep walking past Birdham marina, stop to look at the boats and you can see Itchenor from here too! I walked past Chichester Marina because it’s so pretty, but you can do an alternative route by going on the path over the old Arun to Portsmouth canal which is a nice spot to have another break and some water. Unless you’re a dog whose energy never seems to run out then you’ll happily keep going minus the break!
Coastal view at Birdham

Itching to get to Itchenor

As Rolo got more tired from sniffing everything every two minutes (best day ever for him), I continued from Birdham to Itchenor. Settlements in Itchenor date back to 43AD and even has a mention in the 1086 Domesday Book (the inventory William the conqueror ordered) in its original name of Icenor. In 1348 when the Black Death swept across England, Itchenor was split into two parts: East and West. Due to the steep population decline from this, East Itchenor was abandoned. A path was then built to join the settlements of East and West. Here I got the ferry to Bosham from the public jetty which operates on demand from May - September from 9am - 6pm and dogs are allowed! Crossing tickets are £3 for adults, £1 for children and 50p for bikes.
Photo of water with boats

Boastful Bosham - our sixth and final harbour village

One thing to note when you get off the ferry is the tide in Bosham as it floods the roads when it’s at high tide. If the tide is high, you can walk along the road and join the coastal path where it doesn’t flood and walk into Bosham for a break.

There’s a great pub called The Anchor Bleu which is very dog friendly, serves great pub food and is right on the water! They serve real pub food, and some things with a twist such as the vegan sea cakes which are my favourite. It has outdoor seating overlooking the sea, so when it’s high tide the water comes right up to the pub, and it feels like you’re eating out at sea. Bosham is a fishing village the biggest one of the 6 so it’s a great place to stop to explore a little more. It’s got a church, some pubs, lovely independent shops, and cafes to visit too so there’s something for everyone.

View of Bosham across the water

I love going into the Bosham Walk, where you’ll find a rabbit warren of shops, as there are always so many interesting one-off things to look at. Once in Bosham, you can either walk to the train station here which connects you back to London, Brighton, and Chichester or continue walking back to Fishbourne to finish the loop where you can get back on the train (it’s the same train which passes through Bosham so you’re on the same line whichever choice you make).

The six harbour villages walk is picturesque, packed with history, and a great day out.

Being able to take the train really adds something extra to this too, without having to worry about parking or traffic took a load off my mind. My dog hates the car, so something I’ve found difficult is being able to take him places further afield to walk. Having the train as an option is such a game-changer for both him and me! Plus, he absolutely loves the train so it’s a win-win!