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Leisure and tourism in Adur
Attractions in Adur
Adur covers an area, which stretches inland from the Sussex Coast to the South Downs, and extends to the border with Worthing in the west to Hove's boundary in the east. This area is around 16 square miles and has a population of approximately 58,000.
The word 'Adur' is said to be of Celtic origin and comes from 'Dwyr' meaning water. The District takes its name from the River Adur, which divides Shoreham-by-Sea, Southwick and Fishersgate to the east, from Coombes, Lancing and Sompting in the west.
Roughly half of Adur is made up of undulating downland and yet it includes a thriving commercial port and one of the oldest licensed airports in the country. Within a small and compact area Adur enjoys the benefits of the sea, the Downs, village greens, places of historic and maritime interest and a friendly and active community.
For conservation enthusiasts, Adur provides a wealth of natural habitats to enthrall people of all ages from bird and butterfly watchers to budding marine biologists.
A4 location map of main attractions (.PDF 72kb)
Things to see and do in Adur :
- Churches in Adur (historic and current)
- Lancing College
- Lifeboat Station and Lighthouse
- Museums :
- River Adur
- Shoreham Airport
- Shoreham Port
- Shoreham Old Fort
- Other attractions in Adur - with links to external websites
- Attractions nearby (outside of Adur) - with links to external websites
See also :
- Countryside and The Downs (links to countryside section of Adur's website)
- Beaches - links to beaches section of Adur's website
Churches in Adur
Adur's churches are amongst some of its most striking features. There are nine that are of particular historic interest :
- Historic churches in Adur
- see also current places of worship in Adur (both Christian and other religions)
Lancing College
Lancing
College was founded in 1848 by Nathaniel Woodard. It was the first of several
schools he established as part of the Woodard Corporation and is today an
independent secondary school. The College Chapel is notably most famous for
being a national monument and a masterpiece of nineteenth century gothic
design. It was intended both as a place of worship for Lancing College and
as a Central Minster for the whole Woodard Corporation.
The chapel is open to visitors. For details of opening times and for party bookings please see their website or telephone the Verger on (01273) 452213.
See also :
- Lancing College website (www.lancingcollege.co.uk)
- Lancing College chapel website (www.lancingcollege.co.uk/index.php?smid=13)
Lifeboat Station and Lighthouse
Situated
on Kingston Beach adjacent to the lighthouse, is the lifeboat station. Manned
all year round by local volunteers, it is home to historical memorabilia
and artifacts.
Please telephone the boathouse prior to visiting on : (01273) 593403.
See also :
- Kingston Beach
- Shoreham Harbour RNLI Lifeboat Station website (www.shorehamlifeboat.co.uk)
- River Adur
Marlipins Museum
Marlipins
Museum at 36 High Street, Shoreham-by-Sea, is housed in one of the oldest
and most attractive lay buildings in Sussex. Its distinctive chequer board
facade is well loved by artists and shows that cross Channel links are nothing
new, as it blends Sussex flint with Norman Caen stone.
It belongs to the Sussex Archaeological Society which has run a museum here since 1925, showing the local and maritime history of the area. In 2004 a new two-storey extension opened, to display the archaeology of the area and to provide a venue for temporary exhibitions, from local art and photography to metal detector finds and history.
For more information please visit the Marlipins Museum website (www.sussexpast.co.uk)
See also other museums (below)
Museum of D-Day Aviation (at Shoreham Airport)
It is with regret that the D-Day Museum has closed it doors, as running costs meant the owners could no longer afford to keep the museum open. An auction of the entire war time collection went under the hammer on Saturday 17 May 2003.
See also :
Shoreham Airport
Built
in 1936, it is the oldest commercial airport in the country.
It is a major base for recreational flying activities as well as business flights to the Channel Islands and Western Europe.
Airport guided tours take visitors on a historical journey around this modern day airfield, and when available, may also include a visit to the Sussex Police Helicopter Unit. It is preferable to book the tour in advance by telephoning David Dunstall (of the Shoreham Airport Historical Association) on : (01273) 441061 or 07986 920 828.
Shoreham Airport telephone no : (01273) 467373.
(see also : Museum of D-Day Aviation above, and How to get here by air)
See also :
- Shoreham Airport website (www.shorehamairport.co.uk)
- Shoreham Airport webcam (www.shorehamairport.co.uk/webcam.asp)
Shoreham Port
One
of the South Coasts premier commercial ports. Group tours by special appointment
only. Cargo passing through the port includes timber, steel, grain, tarmac
to name but a few. Established in 1760, the port provides Southern England
with a great deal of its raw materials.
For further details contact Shoreham Port Authority on : (01273) 598100.
Further information on Shoreham Port Authority :
- History of Adur
- Tides and weather
- River Adur
- Shoreham Port Authority website (www.portshoreham.co.uk)
Shoreham Old Fort
Shoreham
Old Fort is an important part of the South Coast Defence System, the remains
of this Napoleonic Fort is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The fort is at the
eastern end of Shoreham Beach at the entrance to Shoreham Harbour.
See also :
- Shoreham Beach
- River Adur
- Shoreham Fort website (www.shorehamfort.co.uk) - a website by a local resident containing more of the fort's history and information
Other attractions in Adur :
- Shoreham-by-Sea website (www.shorehambysea.com)
- Tarmount Community Artists, Tarmount Studios website (http://members.tripod.co.uk/TCA2)
Attractions nearby - outside of Adur :
The following websites detail attractions outside the Adur District :
Attractions nearby :
- Places to visit in West Sussex (www.westsussex.gov.uk)
- Visit Sussex - Accommodation, attractions and events in Sussex (www.visitsussex.org)
- Sussex Downs Conservation Board (www.southdownsonline.org)
Other museums and art galleries
This section contains links to other museums further afield you may want to visit at some point :
- Worthing Museum's websites :
- Worthing Museum and Art Gallery website (www.worthing.gov.uk/WBC/worthings-services/leisureandculture/museumandartgallery/)
- Brighton & Hove museums :
- 24 Hour Museum website : Brighton & Hove (www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/brightonandhove/venuesandevents/index.html?a=a&sort=venues&ixsid=NUXdrE6nMCW)
- Other Sussex museums :
- Amberley Working Museum (www.amberleymuseum.co.uk)
- Weald and Downland Open Air Museum, near Chichester (www.wealddown.co.uk)
- Sussex Past website (www.sussexpast.co.uk)
- Other museums :
- 24 Hour Museum website : Gateway to over 30,000 UK museums, galleries and heritage attractions (www.24hourmuseum.org.uk)
- 24 hour museum website : Kids zone (www.show.me.uk)
- London museums :
- Britain at War Museum Charitable Trust website (www.britainatwar.co.uk)
- British Museum website (www.britishmuseum.org)
- Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms website (http://cwr.iwm.org.uk)
- Design Museum website (www.designmuseum.org)
- Imperial War Museum website (www.iwm.org.uk)
- Horniman Museum website (www.horniman.ac.uk)
- London Transport Museum website (www.ltmuseum.co.uk)
- Museum of Garden History website (www.museumgardenhistory.org)
- Museum of London website (www.museumoflondon.org.uk)
- National Gallery website (www.nationalgallery.org.uk)
- National Maritime Museum website (www.nmm.ac.uk)
- Natural History Museum website (www.nhm.ac.uk)
- Science Museum website (www.sciencemuseum.org.uk)
- Tate Gallery, Tate Modern, Tate Britain website (www.tate.org.uk)
- Victoria and Albert Museum website (www.vam.ac.uk)
- For a much fuller list of London Museums see :
24 Hour Museum website : London (www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/london/venuesandevents/index.html?a=a&sort=venues&ixsid=KwSaGmQv_Nv)
