West Wittering Beach, Hampshire

Where is West Wittering Beach?

One of our closest Beaches is West Wittering beach in West Sussex, on the South Coast of England. Situated just South of Chichester in Hampshire, it is a very popular beach for those living nearby.

There is a webcam at West Wittering Beach that you can check here.

Pre-booking for West Wittering Beach car park

Since Covid-19 started it has been obligatory to pre book car parking in order to visit the beach. Booking can be done here. It can be very popular and it regularly sells out, so if you plan to go book in advance. Car parking costs can be found here. I went recently and paid £8 for all day parking.

Particularly in high season the roads around West Wittering can get very busy, so factor that into your timing. It will likely take you longer to get there than you expect! If possible, arriving first thing in the morning is probably the least stressful thing to do.

On our most recent trip we managed to park right by the toilets and cafe and entrance to the beach. However, I think wherever you park you won’t be far from amenities and a gap to get onto the beach.

The Beach at West Wittering

The actual beach at West Wittering is huge and at low tide goes on and on before you actually get to the sea. On our last visit the first slither of sand you get to was fairly busy with people but they were very far from the sea so we kept walking and planted ourselves much closer to the sea (just be mindful of tide times!). One of my favourite things about West Wittering is that the water is shallow and gentle for children. Whilst I obviously watch the children all the time, it is reassuring to know it’s not deep, and there’s no aggressive waves.

Food and drink at West Wittering Beach – and an alternative!

In the past we’ve had gorgeous fish and chips from the cafe at West Wittering Beach (its behind the beach and next to the car park) but on our recent trip it looked extremely busy so we drove about 10 minutes down the coast to Bracklesham Bay. This is a stony beach that is much quieter than West Wittering. The girls really loved playing with all the stones whilst I ordered food at Billys on the Beach (which was delicious) and watched on from the picnic tables. There’s public parking available right next to the cafe.

We have also often taken a picnic to eat at the beach. Just bear in mind this adds to what you have to carry onto the beach (which can be tricky if you’re alone with kids!) It’s actually a perfect place for a car boot picnic. Leave it in the car and then sit in the car (or on a picnic blanket by the car) and eat it before you go home. My two are often very hungry after a play in the sea. And obviously….your sandwiches won’t get sandy if you eat in the car boot rather than on the beach!

East Head

The next time we visit West Wittering I am tempted to walk up to East Head where apparently there are gorgeous sand dunes…and it’s reputedly a bit quieter! If anyone knows about it please do comment below.

Thank you for reading our post about West Wittering Beach.

If you’d like to read more about day trips in Hampshire check out our review of Peppa Pig World at Paultons Park here. in