Low tide: gives you a mirror like lagoon, perfect for learning or flat water tricks. Mid tide: you can get flat water or chop or waves depending on the wind which will generally be good for improver, intermediate or advanced riders. High tide: the experienced kiter will love the classic conditions offered at Witterings. In Southwest and westerly winds, good swells can arrive to provide exciting conditions particularly out on the sand bar. Some of the best waves can be found here just before or after high tide, just downwind of the clubhouse. Southerly winds can make launching with a kite tricky for the inexperienced riders, whilst waiting for the tide to recede past the groins, the less experience would be more comfortable.
At high tide, there are pebbles at the top of the beach. The rest of the time it's all sand. Low tide gives plenty of room to launch and land. Launching at high tide should be left to the more experienced kiters, as their are groines to navigate in and out.
In winter definitively you need a thick wetsuit. In summer you can wear just shorts, but a shorty is good to have. The season is as long as you can bear the cold.
West Wittering works with most wind directions; Southerly is onshore, not a great direction at high tide but quite suitable at mid and low tide. Southwesterly is classic south coast sideonshore conditions. Wittering rips in these conditions, flat water in the lagoon at Low tide and good waves out on the outer bar. Westerly is nearly sideshore good for wave riding if there is any swell, good at mid tide not ideal in the lagoon at low tide. Northwesterly sideoff conditions suitable for more experienced riders with gusty winds generally novices and intermediates watch out. Northeasterly is directly offshore, low tide in the lagoon is the only real option in this wind direction. Easterly wind is port tack, sideshore, often really good at Witterings, it is best to kite it on an incoming tide as after high tide the current and wind are running together and you struggle to keep upwind of the groines. Southeast is a pretty rare wind direction and is best sailed on an incoming tide due to the rip; avoid high tide as it is difficult to launch between the groynes in this direction.
From London: It takes 1 1/4 hours from London via the A3 to Portsmouth, along the A27 to Chichester and then down the A286 to West Wittering. Just after the shops in the village (there's only three) on the right hand side there is a turning to the beach and West Wittering Estate. As you enter the Estate Car Park get to the far left in the Tarmac car park.
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