This is a great route for ramblers on foot (especially those who find stiles and ascents difficult) and for wheelchair users. However, wheelchair users are strongly advised to note that sections of the route are on busy public highways and also that the section of the route between Crosbie Bridge at Donnington and the A256 (Waypoint 4) is NOT suitable for wheelchair users as the towpath is uneven and too narrow (single file in places for pedestrians and without passing places). The rest of the route is only suitable for all-terrain wheelchairs or a powered wheelchair with soft tyres (not domestic models). Do not attempt the route if you are not confident of your safety. Given these constraints, sections of the ramble done on an out and back basis would be enjoyable.
This ramble is described from Chichester Railway Station but you could begin the ramble at a number of places where there is car parking. Note that the stretches between Waypoints 2 & 3 and 5 & 12 are designated cycle ways.
[1] From the station leave the platform by the only exit. Go east to the main road (A286) cross over, then turn right and continue for about 100 metres to the first turning on the left (Canal Wharf).
[2] Turn left down Canal Wharf (signed Chichester Canal) and then immediately right (crossing the road) to arrive at the canal basin (5 metre descent at about 1 in 10). Pass in front of the Waterside Inn and pick up the towpath. Follow this around the southern edge of the basin turning right to join the canal towpath. (A) Chichester Canal Basin. Continue for nearly two kilometres on a compacted earth and stone path 2 metres wide (reducing in places to 1.20 metres).
[3] The path then rises at about 1 in 10 for 25 metres to turn left across Poyntz Bridge (50mm step) and then descends to the B2145 at Hunston. (The descent has a similar gradient but with two well-spaced steps.) Caution: the path crosses a ditch via a wooden bridge which can be slippery but is passable by wheelchair.
(B) The bridge is the point where the barge canal continued eastwards to Ford and the Chichester Ship Canal turns westwards towards Salterns Lock. This is the site of the original Poyntz Swing Bridge. You passed the (relocated) original swing bridge shortly after leaving the Canal basin in Chichester. (The modern bridge sits atop the foundations of the original!) It is from this point, it is said, that John Turner painted his picture of Chichester Canal in 1828, showing a large brig sailing south with Chichester Cathedral in the background. To view the painting visit http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/turner-chichester-canal-n00560
Turn right at the road along the pavement to see the path on your right. Re-join the towpath. Note – this is a permissive cycle path with a similar surface to before, narrowing to about 1.2 metres wide in places. Some distance further on the path rises slightly to cross the remains of the Selsey tramway. At this point you will see on your right the foundations of the old bridge, with a small piece of track and a pair of tram wheels.
(C) Site of Selsey Tramway bridge over the canal. The line of the tramway can clearly be seen to the south. For further information on the tramway visit http://www.colonelstephenssociety.co.uk/STWSR.html
A kilometre after Hunston you arrive at Crosbie Bridge on the B2201 at Donnington. Cross over. Caution: the road is busy.
(D) One can clearly see a section of original paved road at Crosbie Bridge (before the road was re-aligned). Note the "fender" stone placed so as to bump cartwheels into the correct alignment to cross the bridge.
Between here and Waypoint 4 the standard of the towpath is NOT suitable for wheelchairs because it is very narrow and uneven with no passing places.
Continue along towpath for about 500 metres until you reach the site of the Dudley Swing Bridge. (E) Note the pivot ring for the bridge and its balance weights on the opposite bank and the use of key stones to lock the large blocks of masonry into place. See also the ruts worn into the stone by wagon wheels.
Continue along the footpath until you reach the busy A286.
[4] Here you must cross the road over the canal. Having crossed you can either take a grass route of about 100 metres parallel with the canal to join the road to the marina in an area which can be muddy; or avoid the mud by walking 50 metres north on the grass by the roadside to join the access road into Chichester Marina. Whatever your choice you will arrive on a tarmac road leading into the marina. There are white lines on either side of the road marking out pedestrian lanes.
At the entrance to the marina you will find the visitors’ car park on the right. From the visitors’ car park you can avoid the marina and its lock crossing, by taking the road running around its northern perimeter. To do this turn north-west and wend your way round the gate across the road, or bypass the gate via rough grass and follow this road to re-join the route at Waypoint 7.
But if you would like to see the canal and marina locks giving access to the sea, or you would like to visit the shops, cafe and toilets, carry straight on. After about 100 metres you will see signs to the “Spinnaker” on your right. This has a bar/cafe shop and wheelchair accessible toilets. Passing/leaving the Spinnaker continue west along the main access road going past the Chichester Boat Yard. Note the houseboats on the left and the 1820 Egremont Bridge.
[5] At the point where the road bears to the right, continue ahead for 150 metres past the Chichester Yacht Club building to view the Salterns Lock. (F) This is the start of the Portsmouth and Arundel Canal and its branch to Chichester (opened 1823). The lock gave the canal access from and to the sea. Salterns Lock is 100 feet (30.5 metres) long and 20 feet (6.1 metres) wide, having been designed to accept ships of up to 100 tons (101.6 metric tonnes). The lock is still operational.
[6] Retrace your steps to the access road and bear left towards a black building standing on its own with a red roof. From here access to and from the marina is controlled via a modern lock system. Head towards the right of the building, to cross over the lock gates. (The minimum effective width of the footway on the gates is about 0.9 metres). Once over the lock the quickest route is across the gravel to the left, but the smoothest route is along the concrete path ahead of you. Follow this to the toilet block (the public toilets are at the landward side of the building and are not wheelchair accessible). Continue ahead past the toilets and then turn left. The road coming in from the right is the alternative route from the visitors’ car park.
[7] You will now see a wood with two paths through it. Take the one on the right marked ‘Salterns Way’ (which is a cycle and wheelchair accessible path). For half a kilometre this path of compacted earth and stone runs through a wood and through fields. (See Dell Quay and the spire of Chichester Cathedral over the field on the left.) At New Barn Farm turn slightly left, following Salterns Way signs, along a tarmac farm access road. Note there are deep potholes on both sides of the road which are not obvious when filled with water.
In about 350 metres you will see a display board on the left referring to the forgotten airfield at Apuldram (G). During the Second World War, the fields on the left-hand side of the road were the site of a temporary airfield constructed to help the Allied assault on Europe. Several famous people landed here, including the Supreme Commander Allied Expeditionary Force – General (later USA President) Eisenhower. A B17 Bomber also made an emergency landing here when the actor Clark Gable was a member of its aircrew. Today no trace remains of the runways, accommodation tents or bomb dumps that were once a key part of both the landscape and the war effort.
The runways were laid with metal tracks which allowed the grass to grow between the steel mesh. This was important as the farmers were allowed to graze their animals on the airfield when it was not in use.
Continue ahead turning right into the sometimes busy Dell Quay Road and then first left towards Fishbourne/ Bosham which IS a busy road.
[8] Continue 100 metres up the road to a kissing gate on the right that takes you off road again. The kissing gate is designed for wheelchairs and cycles and has a 1.8 metre recess. You are now on a recently laid stone and shale path. Follow this for about 580 metres.
[9] Bear left on the path through a gap in the hedge. Continue along the path for some distance, passing the Apuldram Centre until the path joins the road by Manor Farm at a kissing gate the same size as the first one. This is where the wheelchair path ends.
[10] Cross the road to join the pavement on the other side. Either go straight across (kerb 70mm) or continue north in the road for 30 metres (no pavement) to find drop kerb access. Follow the pavement north. In a while it parts company from the road up a 7 metre undulating tarmac incline (about 1 in 10 gradient). You then turn left onto the busy A259, following the cycle route.
[11] The remainder of the route is through Chichester suburbs. Walkers might want to think about getting a bus from the opposite side of the road to Chichester Station. Otherwise cross the road at the traffic island and continue going west north-west to where blue signs point to a cycle route junction. Here walkers could either turn left to follow the signs to Fishbourne and its (once an hour) trains or turn right along the A27 underpass.
Emerging from the underpass continue straight ahead through the suburbs for a kilometre along Fishbourne Road and Westgate. Cross the railway via a pedestrian crossing. Take care. This crossing is being replaced (in 2013) by a footbridge with ramped access. Continue ahead through one mini-roundabout. The scenery is less suburban as you approach the city centre.
(H) Observe the interesting Georgian and Victorian terraced properties on the right-hand side of Westgate.
[12] If you want to look at the Cathedral and the city keep straight on but to return to the station turn right down Mount Lane following the cycle route to the station. This route winds its way through the grounds of Chichester College. Follow the signs to the railway station taking the A259 underpass and emerging to find Waitrose on your right and the multi-storey car-park on your left. Continue ahead on the footpath/cycleway until you reach the railway station car park, your starting point.