We had been meaning to visit this walk for most of the summer, but we eventually got there on Saturday the 26th September, and what a fabulous walk.
There’s plenty of parking around and about… from the roadside near Emsworth Marina, or a small piece of amenity land just a bit further south, to the small car park area in Prinsted. All these locations are linked below.
Thorney Island is an MOD base that was first established in 1933 after a chance crash landing of an RAF biplane led air ministry officials to realise it would make a fantastic airbase, and one which was well used in the second world war.
We set off through Emsworth Marina to meet the path and head south. It’s a really flat and the obvious path that takes you right round Thorney Island with fabulous views back to Emsworth, then as you wander round you can see over to over to Hayling Island, East Head, Chidham, and up Chichester Harbour towards Itchenor. It’s worth checking the tide times and taking your binoculars too, because at low tide you can often see the seals hauled up on the flats as you get down towards the south western end of the walk.
On the southern tip of the walk is Pilsey Island which is an RSPB nature reserve and off limits so make sure you don’t stray too far! Then as you come back up the east side of the island you pass the army sailing club and the pretty church and graveyard, eventually arriving at the tidal marina in Prinsted from where it’s a short flat walk to wherever you left your car.
If you are in need of refreshment you can find the Deck Cafe in Emsworth Marina. (see the pub link!)
The walk is approximately 7.5 miles and burns around 755 calories in just under 15,000 steps.
