Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier in photos

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

Bognor is a place that I’ve found myself visiting rather more than I’d like of late, by virtue of the fact that my football team (Dulwich Hamlet) seem to play there all the time – usually with disastrous results.

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

This Mayday, I returned to this run-down south coast seaside resort, only to watch Dulwich lose a crucial play off final.

It rained for most of the match, but thankfully the threatening dark clouds in the late afternoon sky failed to open when I reached the beach (unlike my rain-lashed trip in 2015).

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

The train trip to the coast sometimes involves a change at the wonderfully preserved Barnham station, a junction stop for the short branch to Bognor Regis.

It is also a well-used interchange for passengers between slow and fast services, with services to London Victoria via Gatwick Airport, Brighton, Portsmouth, Southampton, Littlehampton (via Ford) and the occasional long-distance services to the West Country.

Opening in 1864, it’s used by over a million passengers a year, and has its own charming station cafe (below).

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

Bognor’s Marine Park Gardens after the rain.

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

Beach huts.

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

Skies clearing.

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

Having a chat.

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

Taking a very bracing walk along the seafront.

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

Solid Italianate-style architecture faces the sea.

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

Windy scenes.

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

Threatening skies in the distance.

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

Bognor’s cut-down pier is still in a pretty poor state, although the ‘Friends of Bognor Regis Pier‘ continue to lobby for its future.

Read more about the pier here.

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

Velvet rope by the pier entrance. There’s posh!

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

View from the pier.

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

A windswept pier view.

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

This memorable warning sign happily remains intact.

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

Breakwaters.

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

Fishing boats on the beach.

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

Boat flags.

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

All was very, very quiet along London Road, the main shopping street.

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

I’m not entirely convinced that their Bank Holiday sale was truly “spectacular.”

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

Bognor’s wonderful cinema.

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

Bognor’s striking Victorian terminus is undergoing a £2m restoration, which will see many original features refurbished.

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

What looks like a vintage Butlins poster can be seen on the station concourse.

Bognor photos: dark clouds, windy scenes and a knackered old pier , May 2017

Parts of the station look unchanged since Victorian times.

Chat about Bognor

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More Bognor photos: 

Bognor Regis, East Sussex – street shots, Terry’s donuts and the run-down pier
A grim afternoon on the pier and along the seafront of rain-lashed Bognor Regis
Bognor Regis Pier – Run-down Grade II listed pier on the south coast
An autumnal day trip to Bognor Regis on the south coast – photo report

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