Travel South of London
 

We plan to spend 5 days exploring south of London. We will take a train down to Brighton and then travel from there. We are trying to decide whether to head east or west. Our 21-year old daughter will be traveling with both my husband and I. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

What are your interests?

Lee Ann

There is sooooo much to see -- Kent and East/West Sussex and maybe a bit unto Hampshire would more than fill a week let alone 5 days -- but it would be MUCH easier by car.

Dover, Canterbury, Sissinghurst, Scotney, Bodiam, Chartwell, Hever, Brighton, Rye, Arundel, Weald & Downland Museum and a hundred other places.

There's loads to see in Kent and Sussex but you really need a car. You'll find it much easier to get around as there are lots of small villages and places that aren't so easy to reach unless you have loads of time to use public transport. you could perhaps take a look at the national trust website as a starting point. http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/

Thanks for your suggestions. We will be renting a car once we reach Brighton. Would it be more preferable to not go as far as Brighton and get off the train earlier then make our way through Sussex and Kent by car? We just assumed that staying close to the coast would be more scenic. Also, my husband would like to deep sea fish. What town would you recommend for that? Is the scenery best east of Brighton or west of Brighton. Thanks for any help you can give us! Clueless!

I personally wouldn't rent a car in Brighton. I'd take the train to Gatwick and collect a car there. From LGW is it a short drive to Hever/Chartwell/Penshurst and then down into Kent . . . .

The coastal scenery west of Brighton is generally dull, and the road alongside it mostly a congested mass of suburban sprawl, for the 70 or more miles till you're way west of Bournemouth.

There are a number of quite interesting towns in that mass, like Arundel - though personally I've never quite understood the enthusiasm on this board for what's largely a 19th century replica of a proper English town - and Portsmouth, which has a lot of nice stuff among the horrid junk crassly thrown up after WW2. And the scenery a few miles inland can be very pleasant.

But if it's marine things you want to see, life's better east of Brighton and west of Bournemouth. No idea about deep sea fishing. Maybe it's just me, but I've never heard of anyone bothering.

You'll be on the English Channel - not a hot bed of deep sea fishing

but there are charter boats . . . a couple of options:

http://www.aquavitesse.co.uk/charters.htm
http://www.christyanncharters.co.uk/

Why isn't it a good idea to pick up a rental car in Brighton?
BTW, thanks for the information on chartering a fishing boat. I know it's the English Channel - but a fisherman is always a fisherman, wherever there is water!

Have you driven in the UK before? Starting your first experience driving on the left in central Brighton wouldn't be many folk's first choice. And if you don't pick it up in the center, you'd be long ways from the train station.

Starting out from LGW is a piece of cake by comparison.

OH - and it isn't just Brighton. Collecting a rental car in the center of many/most cities/large towns can be problematic.

I used to live in Hove and now live in Hampshire. I would second Flannersuk comments on coastal scenery. It is much prettier East of Brighton than to the West unless you go as far as Dorset. If we have a day out at the seaside we go to Swanage, even though we live close to the coast. East from Brighton you have the South Downs down running down to the white cliffs by sea near Eastbourne.

I wouldn't rent a car in Brighton if you have any intention of parking there, as that has now become an expensive nightmare.

Regarding the fishing, you should find many fishing charter boats operating out of Brighton Marina.

Thank you everyone for all of your help! We are going to rent a car a Gatwick and proceed south from there, probably stopping at points of interest on the way. This forum is a blessing! It has been tremendously helpful. We will spend just a little bit of time on the west coast instead of exploring it further. We decided to go inland. We've been to Dover, so opted to skip going east. After a day in Brighton we are going to make our way to Chichester for one night and Winchester for one night. The next day we will go to Salisbury and spend a night there. Afterwards, we will make our way to London and take a boat out to Greenwich for a night. I welcome any comments. Thanks again!

It's not far to go to Greenwich, but you definitely don't need to spend the night there. The observatory is lovely, but otherwise there isn't much reason to hang about. Good luck and I hope you enjoy your trip!

http://changehere.wordpress.com/

the market, the park and the maritime museum are also great reasons to go to Greenwich. Try to go between wednesday and sunday when the market is open.

I do agree that if you are spending some nights in London, I'd do it from there and wouldn't necessarily spend a night in Greenwich.

if you are going to chichester going just south from there to pagham harbour or Bosham (pronounced bozum)is good. Do not bother with selsey unless you are a fan of looking at large caravan parks!! Also in portsmouth there is the spinaker tower for views out to the isle of wight. Be warned as it is part of a huge shopping centre parking is a nightmare, it took me about an hour to park. Get a train to portsmouth harbour and it is right next to it. also just north of chichester is Weald and Downland Open Air Museum at singleton which is a collection of medieval house from around sussex and rebuilt there it is very good.

This might inspire some ideas:
http://www.visitsoutheastengland.com/site/things-to-do

Thanks everyone for your input. It is invaluable to us and we are looking forward to our trip next week. I've learned to get on these forums way before a trip next time around! Really very helpful planning and trying to figure out everything. Thanks so much and enjoy the rest of your own summer! Happy Traveling!