Best Places to Visit in West Sussex
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The best places to visit in West Sussex are Swanbourne Lake, Lancing Beach, Ouse Valley Viaduct, East Wittering Beach, Iping Common Pools, East Preston Beach, The Serpent Trail and Elmer Beach.
West Sussex runs from the greensand heaths and high downs down to a long shingle coast. The great man-made sight is the Ouse Valley Viaduct near Balcombe, its arches piercing with oval openings that line up in a receding view when you stand beneath.
Nature and heath fill the inland corners: the lake and boats at Swanbourne below Arundel Castle, the heather and ponds of Iping Common near Midhurst, and the Serpent Trail winding over Black Down, the highest hill in Sussex. The coast offers the beginner's surf at East Wittering, where surf schools line the shore behind gentle waves, the quiet shingle of East Preston and Lancing, and the curious rock-island bays of Elmer near Middleton-on-Sea, where offshore stone breakwaters have trapped sand into a run of little sheltered coves.
Some are grand set pieces, others quiet corners known mostly to those who live nearby. Here are eight places to visit across West Sussex.
Swanbourne Lake
Photo: Paul Gillett via Geograph.org.uk
Swanbourne Lake Set in a dry chalk valley just beyond Arundel Castle, on the northern edge of the West Sussex town, Swanbourne Lake fills the site of a mill that once stood here. A flat, even path makes a full circuit of the water, and in the warmer months you can take out a rowing boat, while a tearoom, an ice-cream kiosk and a putting green cluster near the entrance off Mill Road.
Ducks and swans are forever gathering on the lake. Carry on up the same road and you reach the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust's Arundel centre.
An easy, unhurried spot for a stroll and a boat.
Lancing Beach
Photo: Marathon via Geograph.org.uk
Lancing Beach runs along the West Sussex coast between Shoreham and Worthing, a long shingle seafront that gives way to a firm strip of sand at low tide. Behind it, on the landward side of the coast road, lies Widewater Lagoon, a saline pool kept as a local nature reserve and known for its birdlife.
A promenade follows the shore, with a sailing club and marked zones for swimming and windsurfing, and inland the tower of Lancing College Chapel rises above the fields. Dogs are allowed along the beach through the year.
Ouse Valley Viaduct
Photo: Dave Spicer via Geograph.org.uk
Ouse Valley Viaduct Stand beneath it and the piers, each pierced with a tall oval opening, line up into a receding tunnel of stonework that has drawn photographers for years. Thirty-seven arches carry the London to Brighton railway high over the River Ouse near Balcombe in West Sussex, an ornate brick viaduct still in daily use.
Italianate stone pavilions crown each end, with a balustrade running along the top. John Urpeth Rastrick designed it, built between 1839 and 1841, with decorative touches by David Mocatta.
Footpaths and lanes near Balcombe lead to it, best admired from below. Some know it as the Balcombe Viaduct.
East Wittering Beach
Photo: Robin Webster via Geograph.org.uk
East Wittering Beach is a shingle beach on the West Sussex coast that opens out to wide flats of sand at low tide, its shore broken by groynes. The village behind it supplies cafes, shops and pubs a short step from the sea.
It is a well-known beginner's surf spot, with several surf shops and schools and generally gentle waves. Families and surfers share the beach through the summer.
Iping Common Pools
Photo: Ian Hawfinch via Geograph.org.uk
Iping Common West of Midhurst in West Sussex spreads this tract of lowland heath, part of the Iping and Stedham Commons reserve managed by the Sussex Wildlife Trust, its sandy paths leading to a couple of tranquil freshwater pools fringed with rushes and pine. Heather and gorse cover the sandy ground, with birch, Scots pine and boggy hollows where sundew takes hold.
Nightjar, woodlark, Dartford warbler and the silver-studded blue butterfly all live here, and the skies are dark enough for the site to be recognised for stargazing. Paths lead in from Elsted Road.
East Preston Beach
Photo: Peter Jeffery via Geograph.org.uk
East Preston Beach is a quiet, local beach of shingle and sand on the West Sussex coast, between Rustington and Angmering. Wooden groynes break up the shore, and firm sand opens out as the tide draws back.
A small sailing club and a beach kiosk sit above the pebbles, with Edwardian villas and a caravan park behind. It is a low-key stretch of coast rather than a busy resort beach.
The Serpent Trail
Photo: Colin Smith via Geograph.org.uk
The Serpent Trail Marked with a snake symbol, the Serpent Trail is a walking route of roughly 64 miles that curls across the greensand heaths of the western Weald from Haslemere to Petersfield. This stretch reaches Black Down, the highest ground on the whole path at 280 metres and the loftiest hill in Sussex, a National Trust plateau of heather and woodland known for the southward view from the Temple of the Winds.
True to its name, the route wriggles from one heath to the next, threading the countryside near Midhurst and Petworth before it closes at Heath Pond in Petersfield. Lace up your boots and follow the snake across the heaths.
Elmer Beach
Photo: Basher Eyre via Geograph.org.uk
Elmer Beach is a shingle beach near Middleton-on-Sea in West Sussex, its most striking feature a line of large rock islands built just offshore. These stone breakwaters, put in during the 1990s to hold the coast against the sea, have trapped sand and gravel to leave a run of curved little bays behind them.
The shore is pebbles at high tide, opening to sand as the water drops. Rock pools form in the sheltered water between the islands.
FAQs
Why is the Ouse Valley Viaduct worth seeing?
This ornate brick railway viaduct near Balcombe, built between 1839 and 1841, carries thirty-seven arches on piers pierced with tall oval openings. Standing beneath, the openings line up in a striking receding view through the stonework, framed by Italianate stone pavilions at each end. It is reached by footpaths and lanes near Balcombe.
Which beaches in West Sussex are best for families or surfing?
East Wittering is a well-known beginner's surf spot with gentle waves and surf schools, backed by a village of cafes and shops. Lancing and East Preston are quieter shingle beaches that open to firm sand at low tide, and Elmer near Middleton-on-Sea has sheltered little bays behind its offshore rock islands.
Where can you walk on the heath in West Sussex?
Iping Common near Midhurst is a lowland heath reserve of heather, gorse and ponds, home to nightjar, woodlark and rare butterflies and dark enough for stargazing. The Serpent Trail winds across the western Weald heaths over Black Down, the highest hill in Sussex, with a well-known view south from the Temple of the Winds.
Conclusion
West Sussex runs from greensand heath and high down to a long shingle coast. The Ouse Valley Viaduct near Balcombe is the great man-made sight, its arches lining up in a receding view when you stand beneath.
Inland, the lake and boats at Swanbourne sit below Arundel Castle, the heather and ponds of Iping Common spread near Midhurst, and the Serpent Trail winds over Black Down, the highest hill in Sussex. The coast offers the beginner's surf at East Wittering, the quiet shingle of East Preston and Lancing, and the rock-island bays of Elmer near Middleton-on-Sea.
From ornate viaduct to heathland common, these are the places to seek out across West Sussex.
