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Selsey - seaside town and civil parish in West Sussex, England

Selsey is a small town in West Sussex. The name means "seal island" - although it's been part of the mainland since prehistory, the marshes to the north and west restrict access. These flood at high tide and used to inundate the lane to town, so a ferry plied across the channel. The roadway B2145 now crosses at all tides. The town stands on a higher spit of land called the Manhood Peninsula, and its tip is Selsey Bill.

Get in

By car

The B2145 road is the only road into Selsey. The B2145 starts in Chichester and continues through the villages of Hunston and Sidlesham. The A286 then B2201 road to Siddlesham are an alternative option from the west and central Chichester. Direct access from Bognor Regis to Selsey is not possible with a need to the B2145 either at the A27 road Chichester By pass or to use the B2166 road to connect at North Mundham. Access from Bracklesham Bay and the western Manhood peninsular is also difficult with narrow bendy lanes unless returning closer to Chichester. There is a petrol station at the Asda superstore on the approach to Selsey.

By coach

Stagecoach Gold Bus 51 service from Chichester serves Selsey starting in early morning until late at night with up to four buses an hour and a journey time of about 45 minutes.

By bicycle

  • Regional Cycle Route 88. Ends N of Selsey (just N of Norton). The route runs Selsey to West Dean via Chichester 2017-06-24
  • National Cycle Route 2. Dover to St Austell passes N of Selsey. Still under construction, there is an unfinished section between South Mundham (N of Selsey) and Bognor Regis. 2017-06-24
  • The Bill Way cycle route from Chichester (not suitable for road bikes) reaches Pagham Harbour on the B2145 some distance short of Selsey. Cycling from the western Manhood to connect to the Bill Way route is also possible with additional cycle routes planned.

Get around

Sleepy Lagoon

This is one of the least likely spots on earth to have inspired the theme tune for Desert Island Discs, the BBC radio programme broadcast weekly since 1942. In 1930 the composer Eric Coates was on holiday here and was struck by the evening view, looking east from Church Norton beach towards Bognor Regis. The bay was very still and took on a deep Pacific blue, the whitewashed resort glowed pink in the sunset. Waves hissed quietly upon the steep pebble beach. Coates scribbled down the tune and wrote it fully back in London, a wistful slow waltz for full orchestra. "By the Sleepy Lagoon" has been the programme's theme tune since inception and became a popular light classic.

Although Selsey is a small town walking from one place to another may involve 1 km or more of residential streets. If using taxis it is probably best to ensure you are using local taxi/minicab firms.

See

Do

Buy

The main shopping area for Selsey is on the high street. There is a variety of local services such as banks pharmacies, convenience stores and independent shops. There is an Asda store at the entrance to the town.

Eat

Drink

Sleep

Hotel and B&B options in Selsey are quite limited. Most tourists will be using camping, caravanning and holiday village accommodation in the West Sands area.

Connect

As of Feb 2023, Selsey and its approach roads have 4G from O2 and Vodafone, but next-to-no signal from EE or Three. 5G has not reached this area.

Go next

Selsey

selseytowncouncil.gov.uk
Postal code:PO20Date Time:Please wait...Timezone:Europe/LondonCoordinates:50.73, -0.79

West Sussex

2nd-order administrative division

England

Primary administrative division

United Kingdom

gov.uk
Population:66.5 MDial code:+44Currency:Pound (GBP)Voltage:230 V, 50 Hz