Island 241 - Thorney Island, West Sussex

Thorney Island is connected to the mainland between Emsworth and Southbourne by a bridge over a creek called the Great Deep.  The island is owned by the Ministry of Defence but the Sussex Coast Path runs round the perimeter of the island.  To access it you have to press a button on an intercom, answer several questions, like your name and address, what you are carrying and how many people there are in your party and then you will be let in. I assume that they probably have CCTV on the gate as well but I didn't notice it.   You have to press the intercom button again to be let out.

I walked along the seawall for about half a mile and saw some soldiers jogging along on the military base but apart from that it was very peaceful.  I wished afterwards that I had walked a bit further along, as you can visit St Nicholas's Norman Church at West Thorney.  The island is very flat - not a contour in sight.  There is lots of mud and saltmarsh around, so I presume it is a good place to watch for wading birds and wildfowl.  In the summer glasswort, sea lavender and sea beet can be seen in the salt marshes.

Until 1870 Thorney Island was separated from the mainland by over half a mile of salt marshes.  Access to the island was by a causeway but it was covered in water most of the time.  Revetments were constructed on the east and west sides of the salt marshes and the land was reclaimed.

In September 1933 a Hawker Fury Mk1 crashed on Thorney Island just to the north of the church, killing the pilot.   Accident investigators, who came to examine the wreckage, suggested to the Air Ministry that Thorney Island would be a good place for an airfield.  Residents were told to leave the island and RAF Thorney Island was opened by George VI in 1938.  In the 2nd World War it was a coastal command base and provided support on D-Day.   The airbase closed in 1975.  It was then used to house Vietnamese refugees in 1980 before being handed to the army in 1984.