After our last trip to North Devon we had a short hotel holiday to celebrate my 'big birthday' and then spent the rest of August working on the flat. We decided we needed a break so had a trip along the south coast to visit some new sites.
On Sunday (6 September) we drove to New Forest Centenary Club Campsite near Bransgore. This is a site we've wanted to visit for a while as it's part of the New Forest we've not previously visited. On arriving on site we quickly set up and then spent the rest of the day relaxing on site.
We woke on Monday to a lovely sunny morning. We walked through Holmsley and Wilverley inclosures, stopping at the Old Station Tearoom for a pot of tea before retracing our steps back to the site. After the lovely warm morning it turned a lot cooler in the afternoon, so we stayed inside for the rest of the day.
We had a lot of rain overnight and it continued to rain heavily on Tuesday morning, so we stayed on site. The rain eased early afternoon so we had a short walk through Holmsley Inclosure to make the most of the dry afternoon.
Wednesday was another sunny morning so we walked through the woodland tracks to Burley. We both found the village to be disappointing - far too many tacky gift shops - so we had lunch in the park and a cup of tea at the Shappen Cafe before returning through the forest to site. It had remained dry all day but had turned a lot cooler by late afternoon.
We enjoyed staying at this site, but walking was limited and there was no public transport nearby so it's not one we would visit again.
On Thursday (10 September) we drove to Rookesbury Park Club Campsite near Wickham. We've previously stayed on this site when we visited Southdown Motorhomes, but thought we would have a few days to explore a little more of the local area. The journey went well until the road leading to the site was closed and we had a long diversion. When we eventually arrived on site, we set up quickly and had a short walk through the wods before returning to site for a lazy evening.
We had a lot of rain overnight and Friday morning started very damp. We walked from the site to Wickham and after looking around the village and eating our lunch we walked along the old railway line and through the woods back to the site. The sun came out in the afternoon so we sat outside until it started to get cool when we retreated inside the van.
Saturday was a lovely dry day so we walked from the site and through the woods to the old railway line and returned to the site for lunch. In the afternoon we walked to Wickham, had a pot of tea at the Wickham Coffee House before returning to the site.
We both enjoy staying on this site and will revisit in the future - it's also a good stop-over if we're travelling along the south coast.
On Sunday (13 September) we drove to Chichester Camping and Caravanning Club Site. We were able to choose a pitch near the back of the site which was away from the busy road. After setting up on site we walked to Southbourne village to check the location of the bus stop and then walked to Nutbourne to see where some other footpaths started. We returned to site to settle down for the evening.
Monday was a lovely sunny day and we caught the bus to Chichester before walking around the old city walls. After a quick look around the city centre we walked out to the canal basin and walked along the canal to Hunston Junction before returning to Chichester and catching a bus back to the site.
Tuesday started fine and dry and we decided to walk from the site around Thorney Island. We had walked part of the coast path and were about to enter the MOD land when we noticed the advancing rain so retreated to Thornham Marina for a mug of tea at The Huts whilst waiting for the rain to pass. When the rain eased we changed our plans and walked along the coast path to Emsworth. By the time we were in the town the sun was out and it was a lovely day to walk around the town and marina. We walked back to the site and sat outside for a while until it got cool.
Wednesday started fine and dry so we caught the bus to Chichester and walked out to the Canal Basin before walking along the canal to Chichester Marina. The Marina was huge and we spent time walking around the many paths and seeing where the canal entered the marina. We then walked back along the canal towpath to Chichester for our bus back to the site.
After our busy few days walking we decided to have an easier day on Thursday, especially as we woke to a very wet morning. We caught the bus to Chichester and had a look around some of the shops before having lunch at ASK Italian. The afternoon was lovely and sunny and had became very warm so we caught an early bus back to site to sit in the sun before settling down for the evening.
We both enjoyed Chichester and Emsworth, although we didn't like the site. It was surprisingly quiet as it's on a busy road and is surrounded by houses but the facilities weren't too good and they could have done with a good clean!
On Friday (18 September) we drove to our final site - Red Shoot Camping Park near Linwood. After setting up we had a short walk around the local area to get our bearings and see where some of the walks started before returning to the site for the evening.
Saturday was another lovely sunny morning so we walked from the site towards Linford Bottom, through the Roe Inclosure to Aimes and then back to the site for lunch. As the morning walk had been quite long we had a shorter walk in the afternoon and took a different path to High Corner Inn before returning to the site.
On Sunday we walked from the site towards Alice Lisle and then to Blashford Lakes Nature Reserve. We walked several paths around the nature reserve but were a little disappointed that they weren't close to the edge of the lakes. The only lake we walked around was Blashford Lane, which was beautiful. After having our lunch at the visitor centre we returned by the same path to the site.
Monday was another dry day so we had our final walk of the holiday. We had planned on a longer walk but we were both feeling tired so walked some of the local paths that we had previously walked and then returned to the site for lunch. In the afternoon we stayed on site and got the van ready for returning home.
We enjoyed the walking from this site although it's not a site we would visit again. It was very expensive and certainly not good value for money.
We returned home on Tuesday (22 September) to get ready for a trip to see our mothers and then another trip with Martha in October.
6-22 September 2026
