Getting around in Southeast England
 

My family (husband, myself and four children ages 9 thru 18) are planning to stay in a self-catering cottage for a week and take daytrips as far west as Stonehenge and as far east as Dover. I'd also like to spend some time along the shore line (Isle of Wight, Rye and Brighton).<BR>We are planning to rent a car. Does anyone have any ideas on some accessible places to stay? The main highways seem to radiate from London; are they much quicker to travel on? I'm worried if we stay along the coast, we'll spend a lot of time on the smaller roads to get from one place to another. Thanks in advance for any advice!

I stayed in southsea(next to Portsmouth)<BR>Large open park at water front,good parking.Excellent navy,D-Day museums.Warf has family events-rides,games,amusements.Hovercraft to Isle of Wight.Good pubs. Trains also a good way for a day trip-can relax on way "home". Have a great trip. I will be back in London and day trip to South sea in Feb.

Roads are fine among the points you mentioned. I was in school at the Unversity of Kent at Canterbury and it is a nice town with lots to see. You can even trace the route the pilgrims took, as noted in The Canterbury Tales.

Marita: the joy of a holiday in the UK is staying off the main roads and exploring the villages and minor towns. The major roads may look faster - but tey are the ones that have all the traffic and congestion. <BR><BR>If I were self-catering along the south coast and wanted to be accessible to Stonehenge and Dover, I would look for a place somewhere between Eastborne and Chichester and within 10 miles of the channel - but in a small village, not a large town. Staying in a village is so relaxing - the traffic is less and the local pub becomes your home away from home.

A couple of years ago we, three of us, rented a converted oast house near Sandhurst and from there happily covered the area from Dover to Portsmouth without any trouble.<BR><BR>As Janis said, it is the small roads in England that give you the most pleasure. The only times we used motorways was to go to Portsmouth and to and from London.<BR>

Thanks for the pointers! This allays my fears and provides some good direction as to where to look.

If you want to check distances and how long it may take to drive to each place of interest - The the AA site, equivalent of the US mapquest..<BR><BR>http://www.theaa.com/