The beach at Pevensey Bay
Pevensey Bay is a small seaside resort with very good amenities and facilities. With wide big sky views out to sea, it is an amazing spot to enjoy a coastal break away from the cities and big towns. Pevensey Bay has a long shingle beach, perfect for walks all year around, which is very atmospheric but exposed to the elements so wrap up warm in the colder months. The beach is a wonderful place to relax or watch the world go by.
Pevensey Bay is popular with water sports fans and is home to the respected Pevensey Bay Sailing Club, of which famed yacht builder Phil Morrison is a member. The club offers visitors training at all levels, and has a restaurant run by its members. The waters of Pevensey Bay are perfect for sailing and if you want to learn it’s one of the best venues along the south coast. You could learn how to sail on courses devised for the absolute beginner and upwards through the RYA pathway.
The village itself has some fine buildings dating back to the 1900s, characteristic of rural Sussex. It has two churches, St Wilfrid's Church and Holy Rood Catholic Church, that enhance the countryside scene perfectly. Pevensey Bay is well connected to the East Coastway railway link with routes to Eastbourne and Hastings.
Pevensey Castle
Along from the shingle beach are the Pevensey Levels, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), home to some rare plants and wildlife, including the lesser-spotted fen raft spider, identified by a white strip on its abdomen. The levels are also home to 21 different species of dragonfly, four of Britain’s rarest species of freshwater snails, as well as an array of unusual plants and flowers.
“Pevensey Bay is the perfect south coast spot to getaway to…”
Places of historic interest include the English Heritage managed Pevensey Castle (also known as Camber Castle) and Martello Towers. Pevensey Castle was originally a Roman fort, inherited by the Normans in 1066, and was the location where William the Conqueror landed from France. The castle has also survived several sieges. Orders to demolish it by Queen Elizabeth I and later by Oliver Cromwell's Puritans were ignored. The remaining structure was used as recently as the Second World War when it was employed as a defensive lookout.
Pevensey Bay is close to Hastings, Rye and Eastbourne for shops and further local places of interest. Rye has some lovely walks and unusual shops to explore, and it always has a series of entertainment on, so do check the listings before you visit. Hastings is full of things to see and do so plan ahead to make the most of it. It has its own ancient castle, a bustling fishing industry, a newly restored pier, a long promenade to idle along and great sea views.