Littlehampton photo gallery: 45 scenes from the East Sussex town and seaside resort

Reached by a direct train from London Victoria, Littlehampton is an attractive historic seaside town, with a population of around 28,000 people.

It’s a town I’ve visited twice before, in 2003 and 2007, and it was good to see the improvements being made around the town and beachfront.

Here’s 45 photos taken during a visit in June 2026.

Littlehampton is one of the few UK mainline stations to retain its Victorian-era mechanical semaphore signalling.

These excite me way more than they should, so I’ll say no more until the end of this article.

Ye Olde Plastic castle.

Unfortunately, the tide was about as far out as it could get, so it took a determined stroll to get to the water.

The beachfront had been smartened up since our last visit.

On the right you can see the River Arun which, at 37 miles (60km) long, can claim to be the longest river entirely within Sussex.

Rising in St Leonard’s Forest, it flows through Horsham and the South Downs National Park before emptying into the English Channel at Littlehampton. It is famously tidal and one of the fastest-flowing rivers in the UK

I’ve always loved the 1930s War of the Worlds sci-fi vibes given out by the iconic Littlehampton Lighthouse.

Built in 1948 and located on the eastern pier marking the entrance to the River Arun, it stands seven metres high, and remains an active navigational beacon.

Just in case anyone was confused about what country they were in, multiple Union Jacks were helpfully positioned all around the seafront.

Beach huts.

A wedding party poses for a breezy photo in the sand.

Lured by the toupee-removing gusts, windsurfers were out in force.

Occasionally, one would catch the wind and go wheeee! into the sky.

Oh, hai.

Some brave explorers embark on a long distance hike to find the water’s edge.

More beach huts.

There are lifeguards and a lifeboat station in Littlehampton.

The RNLI website recalls this act of astounding bravery from 1840:

Gold Medal awarded to Lt T Macnamara and Silver Medal to Lt G Davies, coastguards, for rescuing 14 lives on 13 November 1840.

After the brig Victoria with a crew of nine was driven ashore in an extremely violent storm, a line was drifted ashore and Lieutenants MacNamara and Davies, with their men, hauled a small boat out to the wreck three times and saved all the crew.

There it is again. Ready to zap you with a deadly green laser beam if it doesn’t like the cut of your jib.

We took a stroll by the River Arun.

Before Jimmy Riddles rocked into town with his scissors and shizzle, this was known as Philip’s Barber Shop back in 2003.

Smudgers was on hand to cater for your ice cream and hot’n’cold drink desires.

Follow the crab.

If you fancied something more substantial than a Smudgers, the Dinky Doo Diner was there to serve up ‘top class breakfast and grills.’

The boating lake man with his impossibly large waterproof trousers wades back to his office after parking the pedalos far away from drunken temptation.

The curiously named Spud Buoys were ready and willing to start “making waves, one jacket at a time.”

A high level camel drifts by at the small Harbour Park amusements fair.

A log flume-ette ride was entertaining visitors.

This giant ice cream has been faithfully tempting passers-by for at least 19 years.

We can confirm that the actual ice cream sold nearby was indeed delicious.

The backside of the laser firing cephalopod lighthouse.

Announced by the strapline, “Where the coast meets community,” the West Green is a new area for families to enjoy.

And a final look at the wonderful semaphore signalling at Littlehampton station. Watch the video below to learn more about the glorious activities that happeninside the signalbox.