Climping Beach (Atherington Beach)

Climping Beach was one of our favourite beaches along the Sussex coast, with pebbles at high tide, divided by wooden groynes, and a vast expanse of dark, fine, hard-packed sand exposed at low tide. The problem is that it has been hit during storms in recent years, and coastal defences have been breached. The policy is to let the stretch from the Littlehampton Harbour estuary to Poole Place, the headland just before Elmer Beach, realign naturally. This is a shame because visiting the beach is a gamble and constantly changes. (Note our photos and videos are based on our memories of a glorious beach and don’t reflect the beach today!)

Climping Beach, also known as Atherington Beach, is a peaceful and relatively undeveloped stretch of coastline near the village of Climping. It offers a quieter coastline than its neighbouring seaside towns of Littlehampton and Bognor Regis. If you walk eastwards towards Littlehampton, much of the area is now designated for scientific interest, and parts are a nature reserve. However, many sections of the sand dunes are now fenced off to protect against erosion and help local species to thrive.

Climping Beach and many beaches to the west are dog-friendly all year round.

You can head in either direction, and it used to be a great place to base a coastal walk. However, due to the erosion, there is no high coast path, so you must rely on the beach itself and lower tide levels. To the East, you have the dune ecosystem and Littlehampton. To the West, you are backed by countryside and then hit the many private beach estates (Elmer, Middleton-on-sea, Felpham) that line this stretch of Coast before Bognor Regis.

Due to erosion, you have no facilities at the beach, although you have a pub half a mile back up the road from the beach.