The River Arun and Littlehampton Harbour: the back story

About The River Arun and Littlehampton Harbour: the back story

By the ULTIMATE Brighton Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

The River Arun meets the sea at Littlehampton, where a small but busy harbour has been run by the Littlehampton Harbour Board since 1927. Fishing boats, yachts and paddleboarders share the water, and a riverside path leads inland all the way to Arundel.

Stand by the harbour at Littlehampton on a rising tide and watch the Arun fill: fishing boats come in from the harbour mouth, yachts wait at their moorings, and children hang crab lines off the river wall. Few small harbours on the south coast feel so much part of their town.

A small, busy port

There has been a port on the Arun since Roman times. Littlehampton Harbour Board was founded by an Act of Parliament in 1927, replacing the old Commissioners of the Port of Arundel and Harbour of Littlehampton. In its own words, the harbour remains a small but busy port: a working harbour for commercial vessels and fishing boats, a destination for leisure craft and paddleboarders, home to a lifeboat station, and a gateway to Arundel and the South Downs National Park.

Check opening times and trains on the official sites before you travel.

The Red Bridge

Until 1908 the river was crossed by a ferry barge. That May a swing bridge opened for vehicles and walkers; in 1973 it was replaced by a retractable footbridge, painted red and known ever since as the Red Bridge. From it, a fifteen-minute walk along the west bank of the river brings you to West Beach.

Two forts

The harbour mouth has been defended twice. A seven-gun battery of 1759 stood on the east side, where its mound survives in Harbour Park. In 1854 a new fort was built on the west bank, with a ditch eight metres wide and a loopholed Carnot wall; it is now a ruin in the dunes, and the Friends of Shoreham Fort tell its story on their site.

Crabbing, fishing and paddling

The riverside is a favourite spot for crabbing; the shops along the river and Harbour Park sell everything you need. Charter boats run deep-sea fishing trips, and The Beach watersports centre on the seafront offers paddleboarding, kitesurfing, windsurfing and wing lessons. The Harbour Board publishes tides, weather and notices for anyone taking a boat out.

Up the river to Arundel

The town council’s walking guide describes a flat riverside walk inland along the Arun all the way to Arundel and its castle: a full day out with birdsong and wide views of the river.

Our advice: come at high tide for the boats, buy a crab line by the river, and save the walk to Arundel for a long summer day, catching the train home.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with The River Arun and Littlehampton Harbour: the back story before you go.