Chichester Harbour AONB

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Chichester Harbour is one of the finest natural harbours in southern England, designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in recognition of its landscape, wildlife, and cultural value. The harbour covers 27 square kilometres of tidal channels, mudflats, saltmarshes, and shingle, reaching inland in four main arms from the harbour entrance between Hayling Island and East Head. The harbour is internationally recognised for its bird populations, with tens of thousands of waders and wildfowl gathering on the mudflats in winter. Dark-bellied brent geese, dunlin, curlew, and grey plover are among the most numerous species. The saltmarshes and reedbeds support breeding birds in summer, and the harbour's seagrass beds are among the most extensive on the south coast, providing nursery habitat for fish and seahorses. The harbour shoreline offers some of the best coastal walking in the region, with footpaths linking the villages of Emsworth, Bosham, Itchenor, and Dell Quay. The Chichester Harbour Conservancy manages the AONB and provides boat trips, guided walks, and environmental education programmes. East Head, a National Trust sand spit at the harbour mouth, is a popular bathing and picnic spot.