East Head Beach View Point

The walk out to East Head feels longer than the map suggests, especially when the wind picks up across Hayling Island. But that's rather the point - you earn this view. At the tip where the beach curves round, you get a proper perspective of Chichester Harbour opening out, with the Solent beyond and the Isle of Wight sitting grey on the horizon. It's not dramatic cliffs or anything like that. It's wide, horizontal, the kind of view that makes you understand why people have fought over this stretch of coast for centuries.

Most of the walk is straightforward enough - sandy paths, coastal scrub, a few benches if your legs need a rest. Allow forty minutes to an hour from the car park, depending on pace and how long you linger. Bring proper shoes; it can get boggy after rain. The beach itself is shingly and rather exposed, so it's more a walker's destination than a lounging-on-sand type of place.

Families with younger kids might find it a bit of a slog for what amounts to a viewpoint, though teenagers often enjoy the sense of actually getting somewhere. It's the sort of walk where the journey matters as much as the destination - you spot waders, maybe a kite surfer if conditions are right, and the light changes constantly. Free, obviously. Go on a clear day; mist rolls in quickly and ruins the whole point. If you're based at Fishery Creek or Stubcroft Farm nearby, this fills a morning nicely.