dbd33

That's a shame. Some other time perhaps.

steved61

Ok guys maybe i lied, who would have thought one of the biggest towns on the coast wouldn't have had hardly any campsites on it's door. i have found one, but not being a camper don't know what the site or facilities are like.

Here is a website of nearby campsites. if the campers amongst you would mind taking a look at 1whether the site has what you want and 2 the distance to brighton ie whether it is to far

http://www.totaltravel.co.uk/travel/...ectory/caravan

I was looking at the blebell park which is approx 15mins from the center of brighton

Steve

The TWs

We'd love to come too.

Not sure about Brighton as a choice (sorry) if its a nice day it will be mental (both people-wise and traffic-wise). If everyone's ok with Brighton I'll shut up and just join in but there were some other options that sounded worth investigating?!?!?!

rain426

What about somewhere like Arundel? Its quite a tourist-y place, quite a few campsites around there, and its right on the A27, so easy to get to.

Plus its very... British, what with the castle and cathedral there

fuschiagirl

We were in Brighton for 3 days over Easter for a wedding and it was a nightmare! Parking was difficult - and we had been given a residents pass! It was absolutely bursting at the seams with day trippers - the beach was packed.The traffic to get in was awful. Took an hour from the outskirts to the sea.

I'm really not trying to be negative but there must be much nicer/easier to access places for your southern meet-up.

Good luck with choosing!

Joanne

Robin (The Gadget family)

Good point about it being a nightmare to park, I forget that because I'm always on the bike and don't have to think about parking right on the front.

Photos

Arundal castle last weekend, we didn't stop and don't know where would be suitable for meeting, seemed very busy but we drove through just as the St. Georges day parade was about to start. Lovely views of the castle and cathedral as we drove through though.

Devils Dyke is lovely and good for parking/walking/food/space/views/flying a kite, but no camping.

Littlehampton is another option, lovely sandy beach, good facilities, lots of parking available but in a pay and display carpark next to the beach. We've been down for the last 2 Sundays, about an hour and a bit from where we live down the A29. (A good ride on the Trike and we have a small free slot for our Trike and bikes). I've not visited in a car recently but when I was a kid we went for picnics on the other side of the estuary in front of the dunes down on the beach.
Robin

rain426

Personally I wouldn't recommend Littlehampton for anything, unless you have a penchant for getting stabbed. The seafront is nice, but the whole place is too close to Wick, which is not a nice place at all, so you get the lovely inhabitants frequenting the pubs around there.

steved61

Right so brighton is out arundel is not to bad, or how about hever castle, nice grounds to walk around, picnic etc. Or maybe Battle nr hastings. Unfortunately anywhere touristy is going to be fairly busy this time of year

Are people happy with just a walk/picnic or do you want other stuff to do to

regards

steve

printer

Getting stabbed in Littlehampton.

Do all the pensioners get free knives round there?

The TWs

I'm happy for a picnic! What was the problem with Oxford as suggested before?

Are there any new suggestions around?

steved61

The main problem with oxford was that most of us are south of london, with a couple of exceptions, so i was trying to minimise traveling for the majority

regards

Steve

Ps where abouts are you TW

The TWs

We're in Twickenham so a lot is easy for us.

Forgot where Oxford was... as a Canadian my english geography is appalling! My OH always gets so cross when i tell people we're "heading down" to see his parents in Cheltenham!

steved61

LOL no prob my wife is canadian to, when i am at work she always asks where i am, which is an absolute waste of time as she has no idea where anything is

regards

Steve

Robin (The Gadget family)

Does Hever castle cost? What's the parking like? Free?

Personally we would be happy with a picnic somewhere with a bit of cost-free interest for the kids, like a beach, woodlands, or open area, possibly a walk. Newlands Corner is free for parking, has a cafe for coffee, ice creams, chip, & sarnies, woods for exploring, plenty of space, easy travelling on A25/A3 and nice views.

It's just a case of finding somewhere in between where everyone lives, we are almost on the A3 at Tolworth so all points south suit us.

Perhaps we could get an idea of where interested people are coming from. Steve, you're Orpington aren't you?

Don't really want to go all the way down to Hastings if it isn't central to where people live.

We'll get the location sorted eventually and this early discussion helps to identify good ideas.

Robin

steved61

Yes near orpington

Hever castle is approx £26 for castle and gardens for a family of 4

here is there link
http://www.hever-castle.co.uk/pdfs/8...aflet%20UK.PDF

Arundel was bit more expensive

I will keep looking at other options as well

Bodium castle if i remember rightly does have a lot of grounds around it and you just pay if you want to go into castle

I will keep checking

regards

Steve