A new book by Liz Sagues focusing on Chichester Harbour and how over the years its been the focal point of many tales of smuggling has seen extreme plights of starving communities and played a significant role in the Second World War was recently launched.

Covering the geology of the harbour its modern use as a farming area as well as being home to various legendary figures from the past and present all makes for a fascinating account of this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Liz explains how she was able to access Lady Mackworths memoirs of Hayling Island during the first half of the 20th century which details some of the fascinating happenings from the period. Shes also included research from Spain where state archives detail a Chichester Harbour based family of pirates and privateers.

Other people covered in the book are Sir Jeremy Thomas Frank Dunster and Diana Beale while topics such as the restoration of the oyster boat Terror and building of Collective Spirit make the book a thoroughly enjoyable read.

For anybody interested you can pick up a copy of Chichester Harbour: Englands Coastal Gem at the Hayling Bookshop.