Normans Bay

Norman's Bay

 

A lovely, clean shingle beach, slightly off the beaten track on one of the quieter, less developed stretches of the Sussex coast. On clear days there are distant views to Beachy Head.

 

Location: 

Norman's Bay lies on a relatively secluded section of the Sussex coast backed by Pevensey Marshes, a large area of wetland meadows. It is about 6 miles north-east of Eastbourne town centre and 4 miles west of the centre of Bexhill.

 

Directions:

By road - From the north the two most convenient roads into this area of East Sussex are the A22 (London to Eastbourne) and the A21 (London to Hastings). Both connect with the main east-west route along the Sussex coast, the A27/A259 which makes a wide sweep across Pevensey Levels to the north of Normans Bay.

Drivers coming south on the A22 join the A27 on the outskirts of Polegate and should then head east for about 5 miles before taking the third exit into Sluice Lane at the Pevensey roundabout. Follow this road for 2.5 miles before coming to a turning on the right named Coast Road which leads to Norman's Bay village. This is however a private road and parking is not permitted, so it is best to continue on Sluice Road and try to park where it joins the coast and changes name to Herbrand Walk.

Drivers coming south on the A21 should follow signs for Bexhill (A259) once they reach Hastings and in Bexhill head for Cooden railway station and the eastern end of Herbrand Walk.

By train - Norman's Bay railway station is about 10 minutes' walk from the beach and is served by hourly trains from east and west.

Bicycle - a popular and (given the parking problems) sensible choice judging by the number of beach visitors with bicycles.

 

Parking:

The beach has no designated car park and Herbrand Walk can become very congested on warm summer days. For this reason, visitors approaching from the easterly direction might consider parking in the residential roads near Cooden railway station and walking the mile or so to the naturist beach, which begins just west of the point where Herbrand Walk becomes Sluice Lane and turns away from the coast. Similarly, visitors approaching from the west might consider parking in Pevensey Bay village and walking from there - slightly over a mile. Pevensey Bay village can be reached by taking the fourth exit at the Pevensey roundabout into Pevensey High Street and left again to Pevensey Bay village. After the level crossing, turn left (signposted Beachlands) into the western end of Coast Road which is a public thoroughfare.

 

Beach:

A shingle beach with sand exposed at low tide.

There is often a strong onshore or cross-beach wind and little shelter to be had behind the wooden groynes which have almost buried in the shingle.

Although the beach shelves quite sharply when the tide is in, the swimming is safe as long as the usual common-sense precautions are taken.

There are no toilet or refreshment facilities at or near the beach.

 

Naturism:

This is not an official naturist beach but it is long-established and used by a mixture of singles, couples and larger groups with single men predominating. The naturist section is a good size and extends for about 300 yards taking in most of the seashore between the East Stream outfall and the Wallers Haven outfall. Although it is overlooked by a footpath, which runs behind the beach and textiles both use and walk through the naturist area, the two groups seem to co-exist harmoniously.

Perhaps as a consequence of the access and parking difficulties, the beach is very quiet even in the best summer weather.