Worthing is the largest town in West Sussex, just 12 miles or so along the coast from Brighton. Although a seaside town with a pier, a prom and pleasant seaside parks, it is not as popular with tourists as it once was, although it still gets a fair number of day trippers during the summer. It is famous for being used as the location for the movie Wish you were here and for its connections with Oscar Wilde (who stayed here at the height of the town`s fashionability in the 1890s and named the central character of The Importance of Being Earnest after the town).
Worthing has a historical reputation for connections with figures from the world of the arts, including Oscar Wilde, Harold Pinter and the group The Ordinary Boys and lesser known Peel favourites, The Park.
PLACE TO VISIT
Castle Goring - The building to some extent defies categorisation, being neither fully a castle, nor is it fully in Goring. The word is often used for English country houses constructed after the castle-building era (c.1500) and not intended for a military function. One of Worthing's two Grade I listed buildings (deemed by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport to be of exceptional interest), this is without doubt Worthing's most important building in terms of its architecture.
St. Mary's Church - in the deanery of Worthing and serves the parish of Broadwater in Worthing in West Sussex. It is one of four churches within this parish alongside Hosanna, Queen Street Fellowship and St. Stephen's Church.
Worthing Pier - is a pier in Worthing, West Sussex, England. Designed by Sir Robert Rawlinson, it was opened on 12 April 1862 and remains open. The pier originally was a simple promenade deck 960ft (291m) long and 15ft (4.6m) wide. In 1888 the pier was upgraded with the width increased to 30ft (9.2m) and the pier head increased to 105ft (32m) for a 650-seat pavilion to be built. It is a grade II listed building.
Park Crescent - is an example of Georgian architecture in Worthing, England, designed in 1829 by Amon Henry Wilds, son of the architect Amon Wilds and constructed between 1831 and 1833. AH Wilds had previously worked on other large projects including the Kemp Town estate in nearby Brighton. Arranged in a serpentine shape, the terrace overlooks thickly planted grounds of Amelia Park, in the manner of Bath.
Boat porches - are a unique architectural feature of Worthing. These structures surround the entrance doors of some early 19th-century houses, and take the form of an stuccoed porch with an ogee-headed roof which resembles the bottom of a boat. Historians have speculated that the cottages, examples of which are in Albert Place, Warwick Place and elsewhere, may have been built by local fishermen who used their boats as a basis for the design.
Highdown hill - north of Goring, provides scenic views of the town and also has historic gardens open to the public.
Beach House Park - named after nearby Beach House, the park is home to one of the world's most well-known venues for the sport of bowls. The park is also home to a possibly unique memorial to homing pigeons that served in the Second World War.
Highdown Gardens - a beautiful garden at the foot of the South Downs, deemed to be of national importance.
Homefield Park - formerly known as the 'People's Park' it was once home to Worthing F.C.
Liverpool Gardens - overlooking the graceful Georgian Liverpool Terrace, the gardens and terrace are named after Lord Liverpool. Overlooking the park from the east are four bronze heads known as Desert Quartet.
Steyne Gardens - which includes a sunken garden re-landscaped in 2007 with a fountain of the Ancient Greek sea god, Triton, by sculptor William Bloye.
Victoria Park - was donated by the Heene Estate to the poor of Worthing in commemoration of the death of Queen Victoria. (Taken from title deeds to property owned in St. Matthews Road.) The land was previously used for market gardening and once sported a paddling pool which was closed due to foot infections in the children. Victoria Park is very popular for club and casual footballers.
HOW TO REACH
The main railway station is located just northwest of the town centre.
The A27 also runs through the north of the town so, it is very easy to get to from Brighton and Chichester (depending on the direction)
