Chichester Canal is a leisure waterway linking historic Chichester to the sea. The canal runs 4 miles from the Basin to the Harbour at Birdham and, today, the 2 miles as far as Donnington is navigable.
It is valued by local residents and holidaymakers who enjoy the many activities – scheduled and catered boat trips, rowing, canoeing, rambling, fishing, and stand up paddle boarding. Management of the activities and maintenance of the canal is the responsibility of Chichester Ship Canal Trust, who lease the canal from West Sussex County Council.
The Canal Trust is a registered charity with around 800 members, whose aims are the preservation, maintenance and improvement of the navigation between Chichester and the harbour – a historical monument to the transport revolution in Britain in the 19th century. The Trust is entirely manned by volunteers who crew the boats, run the shopand carry out maintenance and restoration work.
