Poppy Mayy

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Travel Diaries: A British Bank Holiday Weekend

It was recently the last bank holiday weekend of the year here in England...

That is until we get to the festive period of December. However until then I had to make the most of the bank holiday weekend that I had. So Elliott, his family and I decided to head south down to West Wittering beach. A summer destination we had been to a handful of times on day trips in the past. 

West Wittering is located not too far east from Portsmouth so from London it took us around one hour and a half - pretty good going for bank holiday weekend traffic. Once you arrive at the beach (if you have a car) you will have to pay the standard day fee to park. A rather reasonable price of £8 for the whole day during the peak summer season. When we had parked up we decided to put up our windbreaker and erect our marquee. This is a standard tradition for us so then we have shelter from the sun and somewhere to eat our picnic. I'd recommend anyone who goes to do this too as the beach can get pretty crowded, especially in the summer, so it's a good idea to mark out your own space. 

During the afternoon we took a walk around Wittering's famous sand dunes. This is an absolute must if you've never been before. Clear pathways are marked out throughout the dunes with wooden slats on the ground to make the steeper climbs a little easier. They make the perfect place to take candid insta snaps and shoot some really serene landscape photography. I have to say that this is my favourite part of Wittering to not only explore but to marvel at. 

Upon wandering along the beach some more we found ourselves on the edge of the small section of sea that comes quite far inland. I had never seen the tide so high. Usually this entire bay is completely dry. But this weekend it was rather deep, so much so that there were even some small boats bobbing about. I didn't realise this part of the beach was so vast until I took some photos and saw it on my phone. There are many creatures living in the greenery and water here as it goes mostly untouched by boats and people throughout the making it a vital conservation area of the beach. 

Have you ever been to West Wittering beach before? If so what's your favourite thing to do or see there?