The main shopping area is based along the High Street which is now a pedestrian precinct (pictured right). At the eastern end is the Town Arcade (pictured below). Shops can also be found along Surrey St, Arcade Rd and Beach Rd. Free Car Parking (for up to 2 hours) is available in most of the Town Centre Car Parks - Please remember to display your disk. These can be obtained from some of the local shops. Sadly a number of shops are empty but initiatives are being considered to reverse this, including one that encourages local people to shop locally rather than out of town There are also still a few pubs open for the thirsty and hungry.
Littlehampton is also home to Arun District Council’s offices as well as those of Littlehampton Town Council whose building also houses the towns Museum which is well worth a visit and is FREE.
Littlehampton is, of course, known as a seaside resort so if you head south from the town centre you arrive at the sea. This area has a number of attractions
Littlehampton is, of course, known as a seaside resort so if you head south from the town centre you arrive at the sea. This area has a number of attractions
Town Arcade
Surrey St looking north
for both visitors and residents spread along and near the seafront including the Oyster Pond, now a boating lake but once used by the local fishermen for storing their shellfish. Pier Road has a parade of shops where you can get a meal, buy fish and chips to sit out by the river and eat or just an ice cream. Just down from there is the Harbour Amusement Park and the Windmill Entertainment Centre a combined cinema and
theatre which is almost next to the Windmill pub for thirsty and hungry families. There is also an amusement arcade and various other distractions. A little further along the seafront is the award winning East Beach Cafe. The beach is shingle at the top and sand as the tide retreats. It also shelves very gently providing a safe place for bathing. There is a coastguard tower to keep an eye out for the unwary.
Also of architectural interest is the South Terrace whose construction begun in about 1803. This area was once known as Beach Town and was originally separate from the centre of Littlehampton. For more information on this and other aspects of Littlehamptons past see the History Section of this site.
Also of architectural interest is the South Terrace whose construction begun in about 1803. This area was once known as Beach Town and was originally separate from the centre of Littlehampton. For more information on this and other aspects of Littlehamptons past see the History Section of this site.
The Town Council & Museum Building
War Memorial
At the eastern end of South Terrace is Norfolk Gardens with its miniature railway running to Mewsbrook park, crazy golf, pitch and putt and bowling green. Nearby is Norfolk Road with its shops and the New Inn public house, which has live music most Friday nights.
A little further along is the Swimming and Sports Centre which is just next to Mewsbrook Park with its boating lake, miniature railway and friendly collection of ducks, moorhens and swans. Only a few meters to the east of this park is the boundary between Littlehampton and Rustington. The beach can be followed for some considerable way east towards Worthing and is well worth exploring.
A little further along is the Swimming and Sports Centre which is just next to Mewsbrook Park with its boating lake, miniature railway and friendly collection of ducks, moorhens and swans. Only a few meters to the east of this park is the boundary between Littlehampton and Rustington. The beach can be followed for some considerable way east towards Worthing and is well worth exploring.
Looking across the River Arun to the East Beach
Norfolk Gardens Miniature Railway
The East Pier
Mewsbrook Park Boating Lake
Littlehampton boundaries also extend west of the River Arun but, unlike east of the Arun, the west has largely escaped development and remains mainly rural. This was largely due to the fact that the River Arun remained unbridged at Littlehampton until 1908 when a swing bridge was opened although a chain ferry had existed at the same point since 1825. The chain ferry stimulated the opening of shipyards on the west bank but no urban
All the modern pictures on this page are ones that I have taken myself but the two old pictures of the swing bridge and the chain ferry are from West Sussex Past Pictures, the official database of heritage photographs, prints, drawings and paintings provided by local museums and the County Library Service and its parent site West Sussex Past. This database has over 8000 of their best images from the 1640s to the present. These images can be viewed, downloaded and printed for educational or private use free of charge and proved an invaluable source of not just old pictures but snippets of local history as well. For anyone interested the photographic history of the County I cannot recommend this sight more highly.
Chain Ferry c1907
Swing Bridge c1913
West Bank at High Tide
development, a situation that I hope continues for a long time to come. For further information on the Arun’s history as a seafaring river visit the History Section of this site.
There are still some boatyards doing repairs and some modest boat building along with some picturesque derelict areas as well as plenty of moorings for today’s yachts.The Arun Yacht Club is also here and offers a warm welcome to visiting yachtsmen. Littlehampton Marina is also situated on this side of the river and there is quite a picturesque footpath running alongside Littlehampton Golf Club and on to Clymping Gap
There are still some boatyards doing repairs and some modest boat building along with some picturesque derelict areas as well as plenty of moorings for today’s yachts.The Arun Yacht Club is also here and offers a warm welcome to visiting yachtsmen. Littlehampton Marina is also situated on this side of the river and there is quite a picturesque footpath running alongside Littlehampton Golf Club and on to Clymping Gap
