Where to Stay in Worthing, England

What is Worthing known for?

Worthing Pier runs out from the prom in Art Deco lines, and in 2019 it was named the best in Britain. Everything else comes down to the water. Seaside parks line the front, Worthing Museum and Art Gallery keeps the town's collections a street back from it, and Beach House stands among the borough's listed buildings.

Sunny Worthing is the old nickname.

What are the main landmarks in Worthing?

Parish churches mark the villages the borough absorbed. St Andrew's Church, West Tarring, St. Mary's Church, Broadwater, the Church of St Mary the Blessed Virgin, Sompting, and St Mary's Church, Goring-by-Sea each hold their own ground, while St George's Church, Worthing and St Paul's Church, Worthing serve the town itself. Houses account for the rest.

Broadwater Manor House, Greenstede House, and Old Court House are among the listed ones, with Worthing Museum and Art Gallery and Worthing Tabernacle adding the public buildings.

What is the history of Worthing?

Villages came first. West Tarring, Broadwater, Sompting, Heene, Durrington, and Goring-by-Sea each carry their own parish church, and those names still divide the borough into recognisable quarters between the South Downs and the shore. The sea turned the place into a resort.

A pier, a promenade, and seaside parks give the front its shape, and the nickname Sunny Worthing has been attached to the town since the 19th century, earned by a reputedly mild microclimate. St George's Church, Worthing, Christ Church, Worthing, and Worthing Tabernacle stand in the town rather than in the old villages. Worthing Pier carries Art Deco detailing, and in 2019 it was named the best pier in Britain.

Building spread until the town joined Brighton and Hove in one continuous built-up area, with Brighton 11 miles off and Chichester 18 miles the other way. The Downs kept the other edge. The Worthing Downland Estate, on the higher parts of the borough, forms part of the South Downs National Park, and that designation keeps open ground above the streets.

Worthing Museum and Art Gallery keeps the record of it. Beach House, Market House, and Old Court House survive among the listed buildings.

Where is Worthing?

The English Channel sets one edge and the South Downs the other. Between them the borough covers about 12.5 square miles, taking in Goring-by-Sea, Durrington, and West Tarring, with the Worthing Downland Estate on high ground inside the South Downs National Park. Brighton is 11 miles off.

Chichester lies 18 miles the other way, and the built-up area running from Worthing into Brighton and Hove barely breaks along the coast.

What is the climate of Worthing?

The nickname Sunny Worthing goes back to the 19th century, credited to a mild microclimate along this stretch between the English Channel and the South Downs. The sea keeps winters soft. Summers stay moderate rather than hot, and the reputation for sunshine is old enough that the nickname has outlived whichever season first earned it.

How do you get to Worthing?

Brighton is 11 miles off and Chichester 18 miles the other way, so the coast itself is the corridor most arrivals follow. The built-up area never really breaks. Worthing sits inside the same continuous stretch as Brighton and Hove, which keeps the run between them short, while the way inland climbs into the South Downs National Park.

Goring-by-Sea and Durrington sit on the town's landward side.