Breakfast and brunch
- The Perch, our café on the ground floor of Perch House. Coffee from 7am, pastries baked in the morning, brunch through to mid-afternoon. Most guests start their day here.
Where you're going
Two seaside towns,
one stretch of coast.
Lancing and Worthing sit five minutes apart on the West Sussex shore. South-facing shingle, big skies, the South Downs ten minutes inland, Brighton eighteen minutes east.
6 mi
Of uninterrupted beach
18 min
To Brighton by train
75 min
From London Victoria
10 min
To the South Downs
Why you'll want to come back
The Sussex coast, quieter than you remember.
West Sussex is the South Downs and the sea pressed together in twenty miles of coast. The shingle stretches uninterrupted from Shoreham Harbour to Goring-by-Sea, almost six miles of beach, big skies, and the kind of quiet that's hard to find anywhere on the south coast that isn't here.
Lancing is the village we built in. It's small, low-key, with a Blue Flag beach and a high street that's held onto its independent shops. Worthing, five minutes west, is the bigger town: a working Victorian pier, the only Lido on this stretch of coast, and a food scene that's been quietly reinventing itself for a decade. Both towns are walkable, dog-friendly, and built for people who'd rather watch the tide than fight for a sun lounger.
The map
Where the homes sit.
Perch House is on Lancing seafront. The Ann Street House is five minutes by car west, in central Worthing near the pier.
Open in a larger map → · pin marks Perch House on Lancing seafront.
Takeaways
- The Naaz, proper Indian takeaway, perfect if you want something brought back to the flat. Reliable, generous, fast.
- The High Street chippy, for a fish-and-chips night-in. Walk back, eat on the balcony watching the tide.
Pubs
- BAKKUS Neighbourhood Tap & Store, Lancing's craft beer destination. Rotating taps, takeaway cans and bottles, properly nice people behind the bar. Five-minute walk.
- The Sussex Pad, gastropub on the A27. Wood-fired pizza, sharing plates, big airy interior.
- Miller & Carter, on the A27 roundabout. Steakhouse, reliable, kid-friendly.
Things to do
What to actually do in Lancing.
Walk the beach
Turn left for Shoreham Harbour (an hour, properly bracing). Right for Worthing Pier (forty-five minutes, less wind). Sea-swimmable April to October if you're brave; swim sensibly, no lifeguards.
Kitesurfing
One of the best kitesurfing beaches in Britain. BN1 Kitesurfing (BKSA-recognised, foiling too) and Brighton Kitesurf & SUP Academy both run lessons from the beach in front of Perch House.
Beachside sauna
Seaside Sauna on Lancing beach. Wood-fired, with sea views from inside. Book a session, run into the sea after. Drop-in or membership.
Lancing parkrun
Free, timed 5km every Saturday at 9am from Lancing Beach Green, directly opposite Perch House. Register once online; coffee at The Perch after.
Widewater Lagoon
Five minutes west on foot. Saltwater nature reserve with swans, terns, kingfishers if you're lucky. Quiet, strange, beautiful.
Lancing College Chapel
Improbably enormous Gothic chapel set into the Downs above the village. Open most weekday afternoons; the choral evensong is unforgettable.
Brooklands Pleasure Park
Boating lake, miniature golf, playgrounds. Free, popular with families, ten-minute walk east.
Cycle the prom
Flat, traffic-free path from Shoreham all the way to Worthing and beyond.
Friends on the beach
People we send our guests to.
A short walk from Perch House. We know all three properly — go and tell them we sent you.
Seaside Sauna
Wood-fired beach sauna
Frazer's wood-fired sauna on the shingle, with sea views from inside. Drop-in sessions or membership. Run into the sea after, then breakfast at Perch. The kind of thing you'll tell people about for years.
seasidesauna.com →BN1 Kitesurfing
Kitesurfing & foiling lessons
Stav runs the BKSA-recognised school right on Lancing beach. 1, 2, 3-day courses, from first-timer through to advanced. Foiling too, if you want to take it further.
bn1kitesurfing.co.uk →Brighton Kitesurf & SUP Academy
Paddleboarding at Lancing
Tony's SUP lessons on Lancing beach. Gently shelving, small waves, ideal for beginners or anyone wanting to progress in calmer water than Brighton. Sessions run two hours either side of low tide.
brightonkitesurfandsupacademy.com →One of the best afternoons here
The Shoreham walk.
Forty-five minutes along the beach east from Perch House into Shoreham-by-Sea. Big sky, big air, occasional kite-surfers. Two pubs do the heavy lifting at the end:
- The Tap House, Shoreham's craft beer pub. Constantly rotating taps, no nonsense.
- The Bridge, the pretty old pub by the river. Sit outside if the sun's out.
Walk back? No need. The 700 bus runs from Shoreham High Street back to Lancing every twenty minutes, a couple of pounds, drops you at the door of Perch House.
Eat & drink
Our own places first.
These are the ones we know inside out.
Perch on the Pier
Our restaurant at the head of Worthing Pier. Modern coastal cooking, big windows, the sea right under you. Kid-friendly daytime, more grown-up after dark.
Perch on the Parade
Our seafront restaurant on the promenade. Mediterranean small plates, good wine list, sea view. Walk-ins welcome; book at weekends.
Ebb
Our newer venue at Worthing Pier. More casual, the spot for a long brunch, an afternoon drink with a view, or something light before a show.
Other places we love
- The Flour Pot, proper bakery. Sourdough, cinnamon buns, decent coffee. Worth a walk for a Saturday-morning loaf.
- The Crab Shack, seafront fish-and-chips. Famously good cod, sunny terrace if the wind isn't up.
Our favourite pubs
- The Signal Post, Alex's favourite pub in Worthing. The one we send everyone to first.
- The Egremont, seafront pub at the western end. Big garden, sunset views.
- The Corner House, proper local. Sussex ales on tap, dog water bowls outside.
- The New Amsterdam, quirky, friendly, a good night out.
Things to do
What to actually do in Worthing.
Worthing Pier
Grade II-listed; café at the head. Walk to the end for the view back.
The Lido
Outdoor heated pool right on the seafront, summer only. Worth the swim for the view alone.
Worthing parkrun
Free 5km along the seafront every Saturday at 9am. Register online, run, then breakfast at one of our cafés.
Worthing Museum
Free, Victorian library setting, properly good rotating exhibitions. Roman finds and a costume collection that punches well above its weight.
The Connaught Theatre
Repertory cinema and theatre on Union Place. Always something on; cheap matinee tickets.
Splashpoint Leisure Centre
Proper indoor pool with flumes, gym, climbing wall. Kids' rainy-day saviour.
Highdown Gardens
Chalk garden on the Downs above Worthing. Free, well-tended, top views back down to the sea.
Country pubs further afield
Worth the drive.
The Shepherd and Dog
Fulking · ~20 min inland
Good country pub tucked into the Downs. Sit in the garden if the sun's out; the view back over the Weald is the reason you came.
The Ginger Fox
Albourne · ~25 min inland
Exceptional country pub on the Downs. The Sunday roast is the order. Book ahead.
Wildlife & nature
Two of England's best wild days out.
Both within forty minutes' drive. Different worlds; both remarkable.
~40 min inland
Knepp Estate.
The most famous rewilding project in the country. Three and a half thousand acres of former farmland returned to wild, Tamworth pigs, longhorn cattle, red deer, white storks (the first to breed in England in six hundred years), beavers in the river. You can walk the public footpaths for free, or book a safari for a guided wander.
The on-site restaurant uses everything that comes off the estate. The shop too. It's one of the most unusual and quietly moving days out you can have in the south.
~30 min west
WWT Arundel Wetland Centre.
A quiet, beautifully kept Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust reserve of reedbeds, ponds and walkways, with kingfishers, water voles, and a remarkable cast of waterbirds depending on the season.
The on-site restaurant overlooks the water and does a properly good lunch. Easy with kids, easy without.
A stunning castle, half an hour west
Arundel Castle.
Norman keep, medieval gatehouse, gothic chapel, and forty acres of restored gardens, the Earl of Norfolk's family seat for nearly a thousand years. The Collector Earl's Garden alone is worth the trip; the keep gives you a view across the Sussex Weald that goes for miles.
Open April to October, six days a week. Allow half a day. The town of Arundel itself is the bonus, antiques, the cathedral, the Black Rabbit pub by the river.
Brighton
Eighteen minutes away.
Two ways in, depending on what you're doing.
By train
Lancing station is a nine-minute walk from Perch House. Trains every fifteen minutes; eighteen minutes to Brighton. Drops you in the heart of town.
By the 700 bus
Runs along the seafront from outside Perch House right into central Brighton, ending closer to the seafront than the station does. Slower but scenic.
When you're there: the Lanes, the Royal Pavilion, North Laine, the i360, and more restaurants than you can eat through in a week.
Days out
Worth the drive.
The South Downs
Walk up to Cissbury Ring, Truleigh Hill, or follow the South Downs Way for as long as your legs hold up.
Devil's Dyke
Dramatic chalk valley, kite-flying spot, pub at the top.
Arundel town
Cathedral, antique shops, the Black Rabbit pub by the river. Wetland Centre and the castle are the headline stops.
Chichester
Cathedral city, Festival Theatre, harbour just beyond. Good lunch town.
Petworth House
National Trust mansion. Capability Brown deer park, Turner paintings, big lunch in the courtyard.
Goodwood
Racing, motor circuit, the Festival of Speed in July.
Pagham Harbour
The underrated one, empty, wild, brilliant for a long walk.
Drusillas Park
Small but excellent zoo. The kids' pick.
The practical bit
Getting here.
From London
~75 minutes by train from Victoria to Lancing or Worthing. 90 minutes by car via the A24.
From Brighton
18 minutes east by train. The 700 bus along the coast road is the scenic alternative.
From Gatwick
40 minutes by car. 50 minutes by train via Hove or Three Bridges.
Recommendations curated by Alex and Heather. If you've found somewhere we should add, drop us a note. We're always taking suggestions.