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A life less complicated

Featured / freedombird / 13 Comments

Having completed a large chunk of the British coastline and visited 1467 beaches on the way, ventured into the unknown, crossing the English Channel for the first time and seeing what the coastline of France has to offer and adding a further 459 beaches to our tally, we are off again. This time, as a complete change we are on the pursuit of stunning scenery and again crossing the channel and meandering down the core of Western Europe to see what we can see…

If you would like to see our earlier journeys around the UK, they have loosely been grouped together by location and you can find the links below.

NB some of the links below are not yet working properly as it is a work in progress….

Beach Guides:

To catch up with our earlier adventures in:

  1. North coast of Cornwall from 5th October 2017 to 11th February 2018 –   Freedombird in Cornwall
  2. Back in Cornwall at various times to complete the coastline – Freedombird back in Cornwall
  3. North coast of Devon from 11th February to 19th March 2018 – Freedombird in North Devon
  4. Somerset from 19th March to 29th April 2018 – Freedombird in Somerset
  5. South Wales coast from 29th April to 14th August 2018 – Freedombird in South Wales
  6. West and North Wales coast from 14th August to 21st October 2018 – Freedombird in West and North Wales
  7. North West England from 21st October to 26th November 2018 and 27th January to 4th February 2019 – Freedombird in North West England
  8. Cumbria from 27th January to 5th April 2019 – Freedombird in Cumbria
  9. South Coast of Scotland from 5th April to 25th May 2019 – Freedombird on the South Coast of Scotland
  10. West Coast of Southern Scotland from 26th May to 17th July 2019 – Freedombird on the West Coast of Southern Scotland
  11. Edinburgh and surrounding area from 18th July to 30th July 2019 – Freedombird in Edinburgh and surrounding beaches
  12. East Coast of Southern Scotland from 28th July to 15th September 2019 – Freedombird on the East Coast of Southern Scotland
  13. North East England from 12th September to 20th November 2019 – Freedombird in the North East of England
  14. Yorkshire from 14th January to 22nd February 2020 – Fredombird in Yorkshire
  15. Lincolnshire from 23rd February to 13th March 2020 – Freedombird in Lincolnshire
  16. Norfolk and Suffolk from 15th to 24th March 2020 and 28th June to 18th July 2025 – Freedombird in Norfolk and Suffolk
  17. Inland England on various dates travelling through – Freedombird in inland England
  18. West Coast of Northern Scotland Part 1 from 11th September to 14th October 2024 – Freedombird on the West Coast of Northern Scotland Part 1
  19. North Coast of Scotland and the Orkneys from 15th to 27th October 2024 – Freedombird on the North Coast of Scotland and the Orkneys
  20. East Coast of Northern Scotland Part 1 from 28th October to 15th November 2024 – Freedombird on the East Coast of Northern Scotland Part 1
  21. In the Highlands of Scotland from 15th to 26th November 2024 and 10th to 21st June 2025 – Freedombird in the Highlands
  22. West Coast of Northern Scotland Part 2 from 8th to 17th April and 31st May to 5th June 2025 – Freedombird on the West Coast of Northern Scotland Part 2
  23. Outer Hebrides Part 1 from 22nd April to 12th May 2025 – Freedombird in the Outer Hebrides Part 1
  24. Outer Hebrides Part 2 from 10th May to 30th May 2025 – Freedombird in the Outer Hebrides Part 2
  25. East Coast of Northern Scotland Part 2 from 15th to 18th June 2025 – Freedombird on the East Coast of Northern Scotland Part 2
  26. North and West Coast of France from 11th September to 7th December 2025 – Freedombird on the North and West Coast of France

Monday 29th June 2026 – a trip to Brighton and Hove….

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Still nice and sunny but much cooler with a decent cool breeze, so we braved the traffic (too much!) and set out for Brighton. After a rather tedious 2 hour journey with heavy traffic most of the way, we found parking (paid) along the seafront at the western end of Hove.

The beach in front of us is Sackville Beach….

Walking along the wide promenade towards Brighton is a delight as it is relatively quiet and we are soon in Hove, passing some fine looking properties behind Kings Lawns to our left and the sculpture ‘Hove Plinth’….

With Hove Beach on our right….

As we reach Brighton another random sculpture is the Upside Down House sitting in front of all the quirky shops, bars and cafes that have been built under the higher promenade with Brighton West Beach and Brighton Palace Pier on the sea side….

At this point we crossed over the road and wandered through the town to Brighton Pavillion….

And then back through The Lanes….

Rejoining the Upper Promenade for a slow walk back….

It is still relatively early in the afternoon and I had planned to bob into Shoreham and if possible Worthing but there is just so much traffic and frankly I just don’t have the appetite for battling through the traffic and then struggling to find parking so the rest of this section will have to wait until I can return when it is less busy. It still took us around 2 hours to get back.

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 59
  • Miles walked – 7
  • Beaches – 3
  • Car Parking – £3.80
  • O/N – £19.50

Sunday 28th June 2026 – the west side of Bognor Regis….

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After another hot, let’s just hang around the site day yesterday the breeze was up quite a bit today cooling things down so after lunch we ventured down to the seafront again, this time heading west along the promenade above Bognor Regis Beach, beyond the Pier….

Leaving the main town of Bognor behind and arriving in the small coastal and rather upmarket village of Aldwick with it’s beach hut lined section of pebble and low tide sand beach….

And though at this point the promenade ended and the coastal road left the beach to wind around Aldwick, we walked a short way along the pebbles to catch a glimpse of Dark Lane Beach a little further west….

The going is way too tough along the pebbles and we have had a nice good walk, which is what we set out to do, so we made our way back across town to site.

Today’s stats:

  • Miles walked – 7
  • Beaches – 3
  • O/N – £19.50

Friday 26th June 2026 – a late afternoon wander down through Bognor Regis to the beach….

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Just a slight bit cooler today with a little light cloud around and definitely more breeze so leaving it until four we ventured down the couple of miles through Bognor Regis via The Bell Tower in Hotham Park….

Walking along the promenade to the East beyond the massive Butlins Holiday Park is Felpham Beach….

And then turning back on ourselves we wandered along the promenade above Bognor Regis Beach towards the Pier and centre of town….

We wandered a little way out onto the Pier to enjoy lovely views of the beach to the east and west with a fine bit of low tide sand exposed….

A little further along a small number of small fishing boats hauled up high on the pebbles out of the tides way….

At this point we made our way back through the centre of town with the highpoints being Poundland, Iceland and New Look and suffice to say that if you are in need of a 10+ year old BMW with a questionable paint job and no exhaust then Bognor is your kind of place.

It is not ours and so we made a hasty return along the footpath, alongside the busy dual carriageway that runs from the centre out through an extensive but not glamorous retail park to the leafy oasis that is the campsite.

Today’s stats:

  • Miles walked – 6
  • Beaches – 2
  • O/N – £19.50

Thursday 25th June 2026 – busy doing nothing….

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An absolute scorcher of a day from start to finish so we decided against attempting to drive or walk anywhere and just relaxed in the shade of the van / awning and kept all activity to a minimum!

Fortunately Bersted Nature Reserve is next door to the site so we popped there first and last thing for Tilly to have a bit of a run about and a change of scene….

A break from watching rabbits munching their way through the day on the short grass of the site….

Uber frustrating when you are on a lead and the rabbits soon learn the limit to which you can reach!

Meanwhile – I am planning, thinking and doing the odd domestic chore!

Today’s stats:

  • Miles walked – 2
  • Laundry – £5
  • O/N – £19.50

Wednesday 24th June 2026 – moving on to Bognor Regis via Birling Gap….

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Another hot one but it is time to say good bye to Normans Bay and move a bit further down the coast to Bognor Regis and even though it is very hot we decide to detour to Birling Gap….

Parking in the spacious though busy National Trust car park, which is unfortunately in full sun we make our way to the beach viewing point and are not disappointed…

With far reaching views to the west along the chalky cliffs of the Seven Sisters this mostly pebble beach is quite stunning. Access to the sea is a little tricky for the most part as you have to scramble over some slippery chalk beds and weed covered rocks but there is a small section of sandy access in the middle. Still we are not here to swim but make our way down onto the beach (several flights of wooden stairs) and decided to walk along the chalk seam running along the beach which is nice and cool under paw and a lot easier to walk along than the flint rounded pebbles of the beach…

Heading eastwards in an attempt to see Beachy Head around every small headland the beach eventually ran out before we had any success….

It is way too hot to even consider the 4 mile walk to beach head along the cliff tops, so we shall have to leave that for another day and mindful of the full sun we wander back along the beach and to the slight breeze and shade provided by the van….

Instead of continuing on our journey we try and sit out the worst of the midday heat before cranking on the cab AirCon and make our way to our home for the next week on the outskirts of Bognor Regis in West Sussex at the Caravan and Motorhome Club Site.

Fortunately the site has a good number of trees to provide a bit of shade as the next few days are set to see scorching temperatures.

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 59
  • Miles walked – 4
  • Beaches – 1
  • Fuel – £82.89
  • Groceries – £7.25
  • O/N – £19.50 (Grass with Electric)