Where to Stay in Bognor Regis, England

What is Bognor Regis known for?

Bognor Regis grew as a seaside resort, and the run of named villas along its streets, from Portland House and Salisbury House to Berghstede House and Esmond House, records the money that built it. Bognor Regis Museum keeps the local record. Blake's Cottage survives among them, and the Bognor Regis And District War Memorial anchors the civic side.

The White Tower is odder. Felpham and Aldwick have been absorbed into the town.

What are the main landmarks in Bognor Regis?

Villas dominate the listed roll. The Manor House, Lidsey House, Gordon House, Richmond House, West House, Berghstede House and Redgate House run through the town as one long list of named houses rather than monuments. Churches supply the rest, among them Our Lady of Sorrows Church, St Richard's Church, St Wilfrid's Church and Church of St Mary.

Blake's Cottage is the name people know. White Tower is the outlier. Bognor Regis Museum and the Bognor Regis And District War Memorial complete the short list of things that are not private front doors.

What is the history of Bognor Regis?

The villages came before the resort. Felpham, Aldwick, North Bersted and South Bersted each stood on their own ground before Bognor Regis spread far enough to take them in as suburbs of a single town. The Church of St Mary Magdalene, South Bersted survives from that older arrangement.

Blake's Cottage belongs to the same layer. Resort building produced the long roll of named villas, from Portland House and Salisbury House to Otterham House, Esmond House and Daubeny House, and those names still stand over the doors. Hollywood House and Oldlands House joined them.

The Manor House, West House, Shripney House and Lidsey House sit on the same list. Churches multiplied alongside: Our Lady of Sorrows Church, St Richard's Church, St. Wilfrid's Church and Church of St Mary each took a share of a town that had outgrown one parish. The Bognor Regis And District War Memorial records the twentieth century in the way most English towns record it.

White Tower stands apart. Administration eventually placed Bognor Regis in the Arun district of West Sussex, alongside Littlehampton to one side and Selsey along the coast the other way. Bognor Regis Museum holds the pieces.

Where is Bognor Regis?

Bognor Regis sits on the West Sussex coast in the Arun district, with Chichester a short way inland, Brighton along the shore one way and Portsmouth the other. Littlehampton lies east-north-east of the town. Selsey sits south-west along the same stretch.

Felpham, Aldwick, North Bersted and South Bersted fill out the built-up area, which covers little more than four square kilometres. London lies far to the north-east.

What is the climate of Bognor Regis?

The sea off Selsey keeps the edge off both ends of the year, so Bognor Regis runs milder in winter and cooler in high summer than places a few miles inland. Frost is uncommon here. Rain arrives with the fronts that cross from the west, and Chichester gets much the same.

Wind matters more than cold on this coast. The overall character is mild rather than dramatic, with the shoreline doing most of the moderating and the Bersteds a shade sharper inland.

How do you get to Bognor Regis?

Chichester is the inland neighbour. Bognor Regis lies six miles south-east of it, sixteen miles east of Portsmouth, twenty-four miles west of Brighton and fifty-six miles south-west of London. Littlehampton sits east-north-east along the coast, with Selsey the other way.

The Arun district ties them together administratively. Inside the town, Bognor Regis Museum, the Bognor Regis And District War Memorial and the villa streets are a walk, while Felpham and Aldwick suit a bicycle.