With beautiful sandy shorelines and a clearly marked coastal pathway, Thorney Island, at Emsworth, is the perfect place for a longer walk – especially if you want to feel like Robinson Crusoe for a couple of hours!

We checked out this guide from Day Out In England first, but really it’s very straightforward. Park nearby (there’s a small car park in Thornham Lane, near the entrance), then choose whether to go clockwise or anti-clockwise, and keep going until you’re back where you started.

It’s a working MOD property so you’ll stray from the path at your peril, and there are a couple of gates that you’ll need to buzz through for security reasons. Be aware that this is not ideal for everyone as the route is occasionally narrow and uneven, making it tricky for pushchairs, young children, wheelchair users or those with limited mobility.

A round-trip of the island covers just over seven miles, and on a quiet Friday morning we only saw a few other walkers. The walk took us around two and a half hours at a moderate pace (probably would have taken longer with the kids!).

By the end we were hungry and thirsty and The Bosham Inn, a short trip by car, was the ideal place to refresh and refuel. This was a last-minute whim and fortunately we managed to snag the last table outside, so we’d definitely recommend planning ahead and making a booking.