Brighton

Walks: Hassocks to Brighton, Southease to Rottingdean or Brighton, Lewes to Brighton via Rottingdean, Newhaven to Brighton and Portslade

When the sun shines and Londoners think of going to the beach, most of them go to Brighton, and its beach consequently gets hideously crowded. If you are lucky enough to find it empty, however, it offers decent swimming. The area to the east of the pier is the best place for a dip, with the pier itself and the white terraces of the clifftop houses of Kemp Town making a nice backdrop. The relatively steeply shelving shingle beach also reaches a sandy bottom here at very low states of the tide, if you are looking for shallower waters. Towards the marina there is a naturist (nudist) beach.

Shoreham-by-Sea

Walks: Hassocks to Upper Beeding, Amberley to Lancing, Shoreham by Sea to Worthing and Littlehampton

Shoreham beach is not particularly romantic - it is backed by modern housing estates - but it has a long sweep of relatively gently shelving shingle beach that makes for good swimming, being not too deep and not too shallow at most stages of the tide. At very low tide a sandy bottom is revealed and you can remain in depth for a long way out to sea. You get the same currents running parallel to the shore as on other south coast beaches, but they are relatively gentle here.

• On days when all London flocks to the coast, Shoreham (and the trains that run to it) is much less busy than Brighton, and still only an hour and a quarter from Victoria.


• Food and drink: In the road leading from the harbour footbridge down to the beach there is a cafe, a pub and a convenience store that serves coffee and cakes. On the far side of the harbour footbridge, the centre of Shoreham has now been pedestrianised and has a charming area of pavement cafes and restaurants.

Rottingdean and Saltdean

Walks: Lewes to Saltdean, Lewes via West Firle - Saltdean extension, Southease to Rottingdean or Brighton, Lewes to Brighton via Rottingdean, Newhaven to Brighton and Portslade

These two eastern suburbs of Brighton both have serviceable swimming beaches, with gently shelving shingle, and quiet, friendly atmosphere. At both places you get a pleasant view of the white cliffs as you swim.

• At Saltdean, watch out at lower states of the tide for the underwater chalk rock platform (the remains of eroded. cliffs) which is too rutted to walk on comfortably and which could cut your feet or legs.


• This is not a problem at Rottingdean, where the central of the three sections of beach (the one opposite the road ramp and toilet block) is swimmable even at low tide. But even here there are a few scattered rocks close to the shore which you have to pick your way across at very low water, and what looks like the remains of a concrete jetty (actually a framed outfall pipe) about 40 metres from the right hand edge of the central beach which is uncovered at very low tide, but invisible when the tide is a bit higher. Decaying yellow metal signs at the top of the beach roughly mark the position of this obstruction.


• Food and drink: Saltdean has a fine beachfront cafe (the glass fronted building up the steps), but otherwise Rottingdean has the better choice of outlets. There is a cafe on the beach, and another cafe, two pubs and a fish and chip shop on the road leading up to it, as well as at least two tea rooms in the village's high street on the far side of the main coast road.


• Also recommended is the tea kiosk at Ovingdean, about five minutes walk west of Rottingdean along the esplanade that follows the foot of the cliffs. You can swim here in the upper half of the high tide, but at low tide there is the same rock platform problem that you get at Saltdean.

Littlehampton to Lancing

Walks: Amberley to Lancing, Shoreham by Sea to Worthing and Littlehampton, Littlehampton to Bognor Regis and Pagham

This stretch of coast is generally built-up, and the seaside towns disappointing, though the centre of Worthing (on either side of the pier) is an exception to this. There is a pleasant enough seafront walking route all the way from Shoreham to Littlehampton, with a number of cafes, and at high tide there is a good depth of sea for swimming. At low tide the sea goes out across a considerable expanse of sand and mud, but this can be an advantage when choppy seas make swimming difficult on steeper shingle beaches.