The Oven Campsite

You can’t come to Hayling Island without hitting the beach… and that’s easily done from here, as it’s a 20-minute walk down through the town to the beach, a long stretch of sand and stone with several seafront cafés. The focal point of the seafront is the popular Funland amusement park, home to rollercoasters, family rides and adventure golf as well as a soft play and plenty of arcade games. You can also take a ride on the Hayling Light Railway, a narrow-gauge railway running along the seafront. Meanwhile, over to the west of the beach is Hayling Golf Club, hailed as one of the top courses in the UK (with an extra challenge when the wind blows in off the sea…) Portsmouth (20 minutes’ drive) is a handy place to catch a ferry, but it’s also a great place to visit in its own right – especially if you’re interested in maritime history. The Portsmouth Historic Dockyard is home to the Mary Rose and HMS Victory as well as a couple of excellent museums, and a ride up to the top of the Spinnaker Tower gives fabulous views across the city and the Solent.