Hello from The Netherlands

Welcome Veronique, If you only have three weeks and own a caravan and it is not easy to obtain last minute sites it is perhaps best if you consider booking and basing yourselves at only 3 or a max of 4 sites and using your car to visit the attractions that interest you. Where do you disembark in England? If Dover, the Abbey Wood Club site might have been a better bet than Crystal Palace for its better and quicker transport links into Central London.

peedee

Hi Veronique

We are coming over at the end of the first week in May for 5 weeks. We do a lot of birdwatching/nature visits, walking and cycling and like history, be it political, religious or industrial so can normally find something to interest us. 

We haven't really done the Netherlands justice in our holidays in the past, usually just having a few days here and a few days there whilst en route to Germany or Austria or coming back to the ferry. We've always enjoyed it though and felt it was time to see as much as we could so we will have a clockwise tour starting at Texel or Overplassen reserves, then Werribben-Wieden area, up to Lauwersoog and one of the Wadden islands, down to Drenthe and the hunebedden and then finish off with a couple of weeks pottering around the Hoge-Veluwe and Biesbosch nature reserves as well as visiting the local sights in those areas. Hopefully doing quite a bit of cycling as well.

We've had week long holidays in South Holland and Limburg areas, mainly cycling ones and both of us have spent some time visiting Amsterdam in the past, although we may catch a train in to visit the Rijksmuseum again following its refurbishment.

Your hobbies are similar to ours so I'll try to think of things I would do if visiting the South of England for the first time.

I'll post again.

One place to consider on the south coast is Portsmouth. Home to the historic dockyard with the Mary Rose and HMS Victory. At the top of Portsmouth harbour is Portchester with its Norman castle and 12th century church. Along the top of the hill that overlooks the city are a number of Victorian forts, a couple of which are open to the public. There is a club site a few miles away, Rookesbury Park with one of the aforementioned English pubs a short walk away.

Hi Veronique

If I was to take a trip along the south coast, knowing what I know of it now, then I would maybe travel to the furthest point and work my way back towards the ferry. 

The South Hams area of Devon is a favourite place of ours. It has pretty villages, interesting heritage, magnificent coastal walking and seaside places if you want a break. We enjoy walking the coastal path that is a long distance one so you can hop on and off it as you wish. The area around Start Point is particularly attractive. It's not far from Dartmouth, which is a must in our book for visiting. There is a large Naval college that stands high above the port/town. Old style steam trains and small ferry rides can also be found here. Plymouth is famous as a naval port wrapped up in our history and folklore.

Dorset, the adjacent county to Devon is also a must see. The pretty villages tend to be inland whilst places like Lyme Regis on the coast are popular with visitors. Then head inland to Salisbury cathedral and city, maybe taking in Stonehenge stone circle or Avebury stone circle. Then head down to Portsmouth as Cyberyacht advised as it's worth a visit. I would then finish off with a visit to Dover castle and the war rooms. There is good walking on the headland but Dover town isn't attractive at all. There are quite a few interesting places in Kent, such as Leeds Castle, Whitstable with its famous oysters, Dungeness with its unique, but not to everyone's taste, environment.

If you really want castles then think about visiting Wales in another year. We have loads of them!

Anyway these are only my own personal preferences. If you want to enjoy walking then our Ordnance Survey Landranger maps on a scale of 1:50000 are commonly used. You can get an app rather than use actual maps.

Some free walks can be found on 

https://www.walkinginengland.co.uk

Just choose which county you are in. They are a mixture so some come with maps and others are just descriptions.

Hope you enjoy your holiday.

Whatever you choose bear in mind that touring sites tend to get booked up, even out of high season, here so book ahead. You could look at Certificated Locations (C.L.) as an alternative to big sites. These are all different but can only accommodate 5 units on site at any one time (or should). Details can be found under "Find a Campsite" at the top of the page.

If you need anymore information then ask.

And nobody's mentioned Cornwall. It’s as far south as you can go (Lizard Point) and as far west too (Land's End) on the English mainland.

Land of King Arthur, Poldark, the Shell Seekers and much more. Renowned for its fishing harbours, rugged coastline, fabulous beaches and pasties.

A word of caution, the roads of Devon and Cornwall need caution away from major routes but there are plenty of caravan sites which proves access is very possible.

Enjoy your visit.

Veronique. Hope you enjoy your holiday on the south coast. Don't miss our oldest cathedral at Canterbury in Kent and maybe Winston Churchill's old home at Chartwell in the same county. Kent has a lot to offer, try some English wine at Chapel Down or some sea food at Whitstable. Further along you can get a closer look at our famous white cliffs at Beachy Head and Eastbourne is a pleasant seaside town. There's quite a bit of history at Hastings and Battle (there are two club sites near there) where we lost out to the French in 1066! Rye is a nice old coastal town too.

I'd forgotten about Rye Brue. Lovely place with a really nice nature reserve down by the sea, where you can have a good walk at the same time. 

Yep, Battle and Hastings, including the Abbey, worth a visit. And Canterbury.

Thought I'd leave Cornwall to this those that know it better than I do. Quite some time since we were down there.

Crystal Palace is an excellent choice, great base for visiting London highlights. Crystal Palace itself is a vibrant multi-cultured area with plenty of interesting shops & places to eat - all within easy walking distance of the site. Some great distant views of central London too. The #3 red bus stop is very close to the site, operates about every 15mins, 24/7 and will take you right into central London passing some iconic landmarks including Houses of Parliament and Big Ben (get a seat upstairs). There’s a bus station and railway station in Crystal Palace that will literally take you anywhere in central or greater London. If you’ve got time visit the little Museum that tells the fascinating story of Crystal Palace Exhibition Centre. There are lots of relics of the Palace in the open spaces bordering the campsite. Watch out for the toll road at Dulwich College, it’s not necessary to use it, but some do accidentally end up there following sat nav. South Bank walk on a Sunday from Westminster to the Tate Modern is one of my favourites.

A few club sites that we have enjoyed on the south coast. Fairlight Wood: Gives good access to the ancient town of Rye with camber sands and Rye Harbour Nature Reserve. Also close to Hastings. Great Dixter gardens also worth a visit. Brighton Club Site close to Brighton Marina with easy access into central Brighton. Littlehampton to visit Arundel its castle and wetland area. Hunters Moon or Haycraft plenty to see in this area including Wareham, Swanage, Sandbanks, Brownsea Island, Clouds Hill House, and Bournemouth.