The Crab & Lobster

This 17th-century whitewashed inn sits on Pagham Harbour, a tidal estuary that teems with preening birds. It’s a peaceful stop, protected by a country lane mostly ignored by tourists. Inside, the restaurant/bar comes with a smouldering fire at one end and a wood-burner at the other. You’ll find pretty art, fresh flowers and a chic alcove with banquette seating; in summer, life spills onto a terrace for lunch in the sun. Beautiful bedrooms come in duck-egg blue with crisp white linen, garden flowers, flat-screen TVs and lovely bathrooms. Three have views across fields to the water, the other has a telescope with which to scan the high seas; the cottage has a well-equipped kitchen and a sitting room, too. By day you explore an area overflowing with history: Fishbourne Roman Palace: 11th-century Arundel Castle, and Bosham, where King Canute tried to turn back the waves;. Excellent food waits your return, perhaps Selsey crab and tiger prawn cocktail, fillet of pork with burnt apple purée, peach tarte tatin with vanilla ice cream. The Witterings, for miles of beach and dunes, will help you walk it off.