On the south coast, between Chichester and Portsmouth.
Site Description
Thorney Island was first used by the Royal Air Force in 1935 and was a fighter station and base for Coastal Command during the Second World War. In 1984, it was taken over by the Army and it is now the home base for an Artillery Regiment.
However, to call Thorney Island an island is now rather an anachronism for it has been joined to the mainland for some 125 years after the reclamation of 72 hectares of tidal mudflats in 1870. The island area comprises a mixture of open grassland (displaying a colourful variety of meadow plants in season) and reed beds. This variety of habitat, in conjunction with the surrounding wetlands, makes Thorney Island one of the best MOD sites for ornithology, with species including brent geese, oystercatchers, lapwings, curlews, skylarks and shelduck. Pilsey Island, to the south of Thorney Island, is an RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) reserve.
Access Opportunities
A circular walk, following the foreshore around Thorney Island, that lies within part of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is an important area for ornithology, is featured in the attached link on the right hand side of page under "Related pages/documents".
Further Information from…
For information on access to Thorney Island Perimeter Path Tel: 01243 388275/ 388269.
OS Map References
OS Landranger Sheet 197
(Chichester & The Downs) 1:50,000