The River Arun is in the county of West Sussex, close by to where I live. At 37 miles long, it is one of the longest rivers in the South of England. From the series of small streams that form its source in St Leonards Forest, the Arun flows westwards through Horsham and continues through the South Downs towards Arundel, before joining the English Channel at Littlehampton. The river was once one of the busiest shipping arteries in the south, however with the coming of the railways and changes in coastal shipping traffic declined rapidly and the navigation ceased to be maintained from 1888. For some time I have been fascinated by landscapes that are in a state of change, in particular areas that were primarily industrial and now are returning back to some kind of feral, natural habitat. During an afternoon in early April I made a short walk of 7 miles alongside the river Arun between Arundel and Littlehampton. My walk was an attempt to make some kind of connection with the landscape which was once home to a busy shipbuilding industry.
PHOTOWALK 