SOUTHERN ENGLAND TRAVEL INFO
Itineraries, Campgrounds and Attractions:
A BIT ABOUT THE REGION
Southern England. The flat bit across the bottom of the UK, the main entry and England’s exit point for many a traveller and soldier into Europe.
In the east, the green undulating hills of Kent and in the west, the sun drenched sandy beaches of Cornwall. In the middle, well just about everything else with the exception of grandiose alps, stinking hot deserts and tropical forests. Southern England is just pure unadulterated England- nothing less, nothing more.
Home to the most densely populated area in England the starting point for most travellers is obviously London. From here directly south lies the county of Kent, home to so much of England’s important history (and where Spaceships' office is). From The Church of England’s Canterbury cathedral Henry viii’s Leeds Castle, Vera Lynn’s White Cliffs of Dover and of course William the Conqueror’s party piece at Battle.
Further south and west England’s quirkiness takes grip for down the road from Battle lies the Solo Mum capital of the world, Hastings and just a few more doors down the road lies England’s premium retirement village Eastbourne and England’s highest lemming diving point the chalky white cliffs of Beachy Head.
If suicide is not really your thing travelling west along the coast takes you to Brighton, home to DJ Fat Boy Slim and Brighton’s famous beach parties. Explore England's superb maritime history by stopping in Portsmouth before catching a ferry to the Isle of Wight. Isle of Wight is probably one of England’s best hidden treasures. Fantastic beaches, rock festivals, wind surfing, kite surfing and of course no visit would be complete without stopping by at the UK’s sailing mecca, Cowes.
Back to the mainland, to either Portsmouth of Southampton check out one of the UK’s most unusual sights of an amazing luxury car dealership in the middle of nowhere in the New Forest. Nearby is the village of Lyndhurst. The New Forest is camping central with numerous campgrounds scattered throughout the untouched forest.
Wild ponies are the norm as much of the area is unfenced. Deer roam freely throughout the forest and heath. The Forest Commission runs dear watching at dusk throughout the summer months near Lyndhurst. The local info point has full details.
If you are a car nut or petrol head check out the National Motor Museum near Beaulieu. The museum houses one of the most impressive collections of cars and related stuff anywhere in the world. Everything from Classic vintage cars to jet propelled dragsters and of course the obligatory F1 cars.
Stonehenge and Avebury are not too far away. The two places in the UK that no one really knows what is going on. Combine Rock Circles and Crop Circles and you are in Druid's heaven. Get your divining rods at the ready because the new age hippy stuff hasn’t finished yet. A short drive will have you in the Roman Spa/ Georgian town of Bath where beside sandstone mansions abide and dogs attached to more hippies by pieces of sting are prevalent in the town centre.
Not far away is Grand Hippie Central in Glastonbury. Probably now more famous for its yearly rock festival Glastonbury is the spiritual home of the English Hippie. If avoiding the sun, avoiding showers and avoiding anything that starts with an egg then this is your place. Glastonbury Festival is held in June and tickets sell really fast so make sure you book early. If you are taking a Spaceship you will have to pay extra for a car ticket or alternatively if you wish to stay in the campervan, caravan area you will have to pay for a campervan and caravan ticket. Warning: traffic queues can be horrendous so plan your travel ahead.
Keep going southwest and the next stop is Devon and Cornwall. It is worth spending a few days down here if you can do so as the area is spectacular and varies from wild moorland, lush pasture, golden sandy beaches to wild craggy cliff tops.
There are 2 national parks that should not be missed. Dartmoor National Park and Exmore National Park. Both vary dramatically. Dartmoor, wild, cold and exposed while Exmoor is lush, wooded and more Darling Buds of May than Porridge can be getaways from maddening crowds during the summer months: You are really in Bill Oddie territory with an abundance of birdlife and wild deer to be seen.
Penzance made famous in Gilberts and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance as the home of the Pirates, a bit strange really because when the play was written in 1879 Penzance was a peaceful resort town. No visit to Southern England would be complete without checking out England’s most westerly point Lands End. Although the cliff top walk is impressive and worth a stroll it’s a little touristy tacky and worth a visit to be able to say been there done that got the t-shirt.
If Sun, Surf and Sand are what you are here for. The sand is always here but as in elsewhere in England the sun and the surf can be a little hard to find. None the less Southwest Cornwall in summer usually has good surf and hot days. Check out Newquay for the surf. If you haven’t got your board then there are numerous paces to hire a board and wetsuit from. Alternatively if you have never tried surfing Newquay is a great place to start as there are surf schools everywhere.
North and South of Newquay and you are in Foodie heaven. In the south the quaint little village of St Ives serves up the traditional Cornish pasties while in the North Padstow commonly known as Steinstow because of TV chefs Rick Stein's influence in the town are the places to checkout. Anyone of Mr Stein's restaurants is a culinary experience in its own right.
Further north lie Tintagel and Ilfracombe. Tintagel being the mythical home of King Arthur’s Merlin and birthplace of King Arthur. The rocky cliff top walk is fantastic and well worth doing. Just close your eyes to the cluster of tacky souvenir shops at the top of the hill and you won’t be disappointed.
Overnight in Ilfracombe or Exmoor national park before dropping in one of England’s largest ship building ports Bristol. Not far from Bristol is Portishead probably now more famous as the name of a rock band. Portishead was once home of worldwide shipping communication before satellites became standard.
Leaving Bristol there are now 4 alternative directions to travel from. If you are in a rush back to London. It’s a comfortable 3-4 hrs drive to Kent depending on traffic. Or from here you can continue west into Wales, Up the M5 to North England or North west into the Gloucestershire, the Cotswolds and Oxford before returning to London.
