Arulit one

Verified Slow Way

Verified by 100.00% of reviewers

A great summer walk alongside the river Arun from Littlehampton to Arundel.

We walked from Littlehampton to Arundel after a couple of weeks of dry weather in April. The route starts off crossing a bright red pedestrian swing bridge then heads off into a caravan park and through a boatyard, alongside the River Arun to the A259. It goes underneath the road bridge which seems to have a permanent large muddy puddle to go round. From then on, the path goes up onto the levee bank of the river which it follows all the way to Arundel. It takes a couple of hours.

The route is well traced on the map and easy to follow on the ground, with plenty of signposts. In any case, just follow the riverbank and you won't go wrong. At Ford the route passes close by the Ford railway station and a pub (The Ship & Anchor). Three steel kissing gates were the main obstacles, there were no stiles. When walked the path was mainly dry sun-baked earth, but I expect after wet weather it could get muddy and a bit slippery.

The route passes close by the unspoilt little church of St. Andrew at Ford, which has Anglo-Saxon and Norman features and no mains electricity. Very atmospheric and worth the short detour for a visit. It is at about the halfway point and the churchyard has lots of nice benches for a rest.

Under the bridge on Bridge Road (A259) if it is flooded you may need to go up the bank and around but other than that the route was fairly easy to walk. It was a very pleasant walk following the river up to Arundel and then after lunch we walked along it back to where we started in Littlehampton.

This is a lovely meandering walk along the river ARUN.
I met up with my friend at Littlehampton station. We wended our way through the houses and crossed the footbridge, to the west bank. Finding the ‘start’ in Littlehampton, off the marina, was a bit iffy but, once on the pathway it was a delight. My friend and I had set out, with our packed lunches, a plastic something to sit on, a couple of unbreakable ‘glasses’ and a small thermos of chilled wine. It was a gloriously warm August day and ‘blackberry time’ so a good deal of purple fingered grazing was inevitable. A beautiful peaceful walk - with just the occasional boat puttering by and a few swans. We met three people walking the other way, from ARUNDEL to Littlehampton a cyclist and a chap with a theodolite. He was assessing the route for a cycle path? One walker was going to Littlehampton’s West Beach for a swim. I’d already been swimming myself that morning from the East Beach - wonderful!
When we arrived in ARUNDEL my friend headed for the railway station to catch her train back to Bognor Regis. The walk to the station is noisy as the path runs alongside the busy A27! I walked the quiet route, into the town to see friends, I’d lived there for years, and then, exhausted, went to stand at the bus stop where I waited for ages for the late, once an hour bus back to Littlehampton - Evidently I’d just missed one and should have taken a bus time table! The bus journey back to Littlehampton took 15 minutes.
Our walk including blackberry grazing and a lunch stop took us about 2 hours.
Recommend.

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