It was a really hot day as we crossed the sea to the Isle of Wight. We are so sorry we missed the…read moreisland's Pride festival over 15/17 July Prides are colourful and family friendly. The departure area at Southsea is kindly described as no frills functional. If you'd like a coffee it's Costa out of a machine and if it's a rest room then you must leave, go across the road to another, publicly controlled facility, equally kindly described as functional. Most publicly controlled facilities/services in England have been wilfully ruined by the government in office some 11 years out of a warped ideology and much is already gone not to return. Woe betide if you need medical or emergency dental help and if your not a uk subject please be well insured - getting any prompt dental treatment is nigh on impossible (and not accidental) in the worlds 5th richest economy. It's a rum do to vote yourself to be poorer but the working poor and the super rich carried the day. When the truth outs, and it will, it won't be a pretty sight. In the UK the working poor receive more state benefits than unemployed folk - yet bizarrely taxpayers subsidise the super rich. The hovercraft staff are a friendly bunch and once on the island side there's at least decent rest room facilities and it looks a little bit more modern and pleasant. The craft itself is impressive, quite spacious within, not noisy and comfy seating. Dis and embarkation are very straightforward. It has a top speed of around 50 knots so it can move at a lick. All in all t'was a grand day out.

The family at AtlasAdventured highly recommends this experience!…read moreWe traveled from Portsmouth Southsea to Ryde in August of 2023. We originally planned on taking the ferry, but when we found out about the hovercraft we just couldn't pass up the opportunity! As of 2023, this is the world's only commercial hovercraft! Tickets were more expensive than the ferry, but you got there a lot faster. It was 80 pounds round-trip for our family, with our 4 year old being able to ride for free (it is cheaper if you get a roundtrip ticket for same day use). The ride took about 10 min. There is a Hoverbus that will provide transportation to the Hoverport. You can find the Hoverbus stops on their website. The waiting room on the Southsea side was nice and the staff were friendly. There are restrooms and a Costa coffee machine. They do recommend you show up 15 minutes early. The staff on board was super friendly and there is space for your luggage. It was a smooth ride, and so much fun! The location in Ryde was not so pleasant. We arrived about an hour before our departure time due to us taking public transportation to get there. Once we got ourselves settled in the waiting room, my husband went to leave to go get our toddler some snacks, and was yelled at by the lady at the desk, threatening him that if he left the building he would have to purchase another ticket or would not be allowed on the hovercraft. If we had known that you were not allowed to exit the building we would have dragged our luggage, in the rain, to a nearby restaurant and waited! I could not believe how rude this lady was. I scoured their site and other reviews, and nowhere does it say that you cannot leave the building, and this particular woman has been very rude to countless people. Maybe it's time for someone in charge to reprimand this person. She is ruining a lot of people's experiences. I would have given a 5 star review if not for this individual. Once we got out of the waiting room and onto the hovercraft, it was such a great experience. Just watching the hovercraft pull up and onto the sand is so cool. I thought it would be loud, but they do a good job of dampening the noise while inside the hovercraft.! If we ever go back to the Isle of Wight, this is definitely the mode of transportation we will use to get there.

We used this as our base for getting around the north forest and Dorset and thought it was…read morebrilliant. All of the facilities are clean, and are toilets are kept locked with a security code which you are given at the start of your stay to ensure that none residents could use them. NOt that this seems to be a problem as the park is down quite a long driveway, so traffic noise isn't too much of an issue at night There is a curfew, but its note restrictive as its inline with the bar shutting at the same time. The toilets and shower area have won awards for cleanliness and usefulness and its easy to see why.they're are brilliant! Warm, clean, and split into many different 'types'' toilet cubicles. toilets and sink cubicles. Shower cubicles, shower and sink cubicle, shower, toilet and sink cubicle which makes it very easy to use them regardless of the time of day. It is a mix of carvans and tents, but everyone seemed to get along. Food looked really really nice, and the pool looked clean, with free swimming lessons for kids which i thought was excellent. Will definately be heading back there agin next year, and the year after, and after that.

SHAMBLES. we were told to keep quiet at 10pm although we…read morewere only talking quietly no views other than seeing the wardens go INTO peoples tents (trying to unzip the tent doors) to tell them to be quiet. icy staff, unfriendly, rude, and demeaning. we had two young children with us and they were terrified, saying are the nasty men going to come in our tents? NEVER going to shamba again. however, we left shamba and finished our weekend in Herston, Swanage, and it was fanastic, beautiful views, kind staff, bar, shop, kids area, absolutely amazing.

Mottisfont is a National Trust property with splendid grounds and an interesting collection of…read morepaintings, located on a beautiful stretch of the River Test. The house started life as an Augustinian Priory, founded in 1201. At the dissolution, the house was acquired by Lord Sandys, Lord Chamberlain and a favourite of Henry VIII. He turned the former Priory Church into a grand residence, and added further wings to the south. Little of this period remains, as the house was extensively remodelled on a more modest scale in the 18th Century and again in the Victorian period. The house was acquired by Maud Russell in the 1930s, and the house's character reflects her success in making it a refuge and inspiration for artists of the period: Rex Whistler designed the extraordinary Gothic drawing room, and the Russian mosaicist Boris Anrep made a mosaic inspired by the Church's gothic architecture. A delight of visiting the house is spotting evidence of the original church within the structure as you go around: the basement - formed from the original mediaeval vaulted cellars - contains both a cafe and an exhibition on the history of the site. A larger cafe is located in the adjacent stables, built in 1837. The upstairs rooms are used for exhibitions, but don't miss the servants' quarters, furnished in 1930s style. However, many come here just for the grounds: the walled gardens contain vegetable plots, a nationally important collection of old rose varieties, stunning herbaceous borders and drifts of lavender. The grounds also have plenty of woodland walks in the islands formed by branches of the River Test. The car park is a good 5 minute walk from the house, crossing the Test on footbridges. The paths and car park are mostly gravel and can get muddy in wet weather. The house also has limited access for wheelchair users as the first floor and servants' rooms are via staircases. The National Trust website has full details on questions of access. The entrance ticket office has an excellent shop.

Part of The National Trust so it would pay you to join and save money on entry to many other…read moreHouses! We went here last year with the rest of the family. Wheelchair facilities could be improved as we found it a little bumpy. Generally, it is a well kept house. There is an excellent art gallery that has constantly changing exhibitions/displays. There is the evr popular Ice Cream Parlour that serves up some delicious flavours, a second hand bookshop, a Yard Kiosk and some good old Kitchen Cooking.try the Chocolate and Beetroot Cake..different!! Some really good plant stock can be bought at quite inexpensive prices. I particularly liked the Cellarium where the Friars kept their stocks. The Abbey part on show was a little disappointing, (much nicer at Beaulei). Another interesting observation, I found, was the different archetectral styles/designs/influences on the South facing part of the building.

Not to be confused with Sports Mouth, which is a condition where every time you're asked something…read moreor talked to in general, you make sports metaphors which the vast majority of people find repulsive. Portsmouth is a pretty old and beautiful station, with the most gorgeous large red building, and a pedestrian plaza that is probably one of the prettiest stations in England, certainly that isn't in one of the major cities. It's the final terminus of a line that leads down to the water, and here they have a whole bunch of tracks and a lot of people using it too, and it's hard not to love such a gorgeous old station. The lovely city of Portsmouth in recent years and also the seaside Town Southsea which is a lot of memories from my past, are right here, and it's amazing. It has been the station for Portsmouth since 1847 and was originally just Portsmouth and then later Portsmouth Town, before in 1925 becoming Portsmouth and Southsea. You can get trains from here to Cardiff Bristol Brighton London and so on. And remember, promise to love this station in richer, in porth, in sickness and in health.

This station is on the mainline linking Portsmouth to London, Southampton, Cardiff, Brighton and…read moremany other places. The only station before it is Portsmouth Harbour. This is the station you need to get off at if you want to go shopping in Commercial Road or Cascades, or if you are going to Portsmouth Guildhall, the Civic Offices or the Courts. It is also the station for a lot of the University buildings. The station has upper and lower platforms and a lift is available for those who need it. The station has several windows in the ticket office and has ticket machines too. There are places to get food and drink, although they can be a bit expensive and you may be better off getting something from one of the shops in the nearby shopping centre.

There's a lot at Steak when you come to Salisbury. And remember, salis fair in love and war…read more This is a lovely old and well designed station for the amazing city of Salisbury. On the line from London to Exeter you will find the Salisbury station which is one of the main stations along the way. Offering perfect access to the beautiful old Cathedral and the lovely Wiltshire wilderness county town of Salisbury on the plains, and not very far at all from Stonehenge. Also trains from Cardiff to Portsmouth and Brighton come right through here as well so it's quite a big crossing on the railways. It's a lovely old station of brown brick and one of my favourites. It had been growing in usage throughout the middle of the last decade but in the last few years it went down quite a lot which is sad. We hope that it increases again in future.

Salisbury railway station serves the city of Salisbury in Wiltshire, England. It is 83 miles 43…read morechains (134.4 km) from London Waterloo on the line to Exeter St Davids. In the past timetabled routes had more distant destinations to the south-west including Ilfracombe, Padstow and Plymouth. It is operated by South Western Railway (SWR) and also served by Great Western Railway (GWR). From this station, there is station of the Stonehenge Tour bus. The Stonehenge Tour is operated by Salisbury Reds. On the tour you can journey back in time to discover the magnificent Stonehenge, probably the most sophisticated stone circle in the world. This station is managed by South Western Railway. It operates half-hourly services to London Waterloo and hourly to Exeter St Davids. There is also an hourly circular service to Chandlers Ford via Southampton Central and limited services to Bristol Temple Meads or Yeovil Pen Mill. In 2016 a new service began running once on summer Saturdays between London Waterloo and Weymouth.

Small and gets the job done. A lot of construction right around there which made traffic around the…read morestation tricky and testy. The staff working were very friendly, as after I had exited the main platform area I was looking for a public toilet and they were all located on the inside of the turnstiles...a person working at the gates let me back in so I could relieve myself before making our way to Stonehenge.

There's a lot at Steak when you come to Salisbury. And remember, salis fair in love and war…read more This is a lovely old and well designed station for the amazing city of Salisbury. On the line from London to Exeter you will find the Salisbury station, which is one of the main stations along the way. Offering perfect access to the beautiful old Cathedral and the lovely Wiltshire wilderness county town of Salisbury on the plains, and not very far at all from Stonehenge. Also trains from Cardiff to Portsmouth and Brighton come right through here as well so it's quite a big crossing on the railways. It's a lovely old station of brown brick and one of my favourites. It had been growing in usage throughout the middle of the last decade but in the last few years it went down quite a lot which is sad. We hope that it increases again in future.

Route 1 is a bus service which loops around the centre of Poole, and sort of through it too. It…read morestands out because the buses are pale blue. I guess it's primarily aimed at older people, for whom it's free, but others can use it for a £1, children 50p. It has a dropped step on thingummy so that you don't have to climb up. I haven't quite worked out the route it takes yet, but I'm wondering if it alternates routes, because at times I really wonder how it can be going along a certain road and yet also see it on roads that don't connect with the former road, if you followI never have followed and thus my confusion. I think this bus must be so useful for the frailer older person, and there probably should be more of these in the Poole area. It seems that bus services get cut, and yet they want less cars on the road!

Route one is a great addition to the bus services at Poole. It runs on a loop around the town…read morecalling at places such as the bus station, train station and quay. It is great for visitor to the area allowing them easy transport from place to place and makes visiting the town that little bit easier. The price is around one pound a person with cheaper rates for children so if you don't know your way around or are just tired of walking it is a great helping hand.

To begin with, I should point out that though I was born in the 80s, my sole knowledge of that or…read moreprior decades comes from stereotypes portrayed in television and media, which I don't know any better than to try and dispute. I stayed in The Chine Hotel as part of a training course for 2 weeks, and got a good feel for the place. And my impression was that it was kinda stuck in an era long gone-by. By that, I don't mean this is a themed hotel made up to look like the Golden Oldies era. It's more like it was built some time ago, and then just maintained, without ever a consideration for modernisation. Which is okay for some, but I like my style to be from.. this century. That said, the Chine Hotel does have most the amenities you're looking for - a decently stocked bar selling alcohol are slightly over-inflated prices, a buffet breakfast and dinner with lots of different options - nothing made exceptionally well, but nothing below par. And a cramped gym, adjacent to a slightly claustrophobia-enducing swimming pool. However, the rooms I stayed in (I stayed in a different room in the second week) were decent. The bedroom style was consistent - read: dated - but the rooms were large. The ceilings were high and you'd have absolutely no problem swinging around all the cats you can find. Though you'll find a flatscreen TV and a small kettle, there is no fridge/minibar or safe. The bathroom is basically a small partitioned section of the room with a wafer thin wall, but big enough to fit a normal sized bathtub. The service at the hotel was polite and friendly - they were welcoming and made my stay pleasant, and the rooms and general areas were clean and well looked after. Location wise, you're a little close to the unrecommended Boscombe area, which is well known for being the rougher part of town. You're are however, a stone throw away from the beachfront, which is via a nice walk through the hotel's gardens. Overall, though I wouldn't recoil in horror if I were to stay at the Chine again, if I were staying in Bournemouth again, I'd probably try out a different hotel.

Absolutely amazing family hotel. Big, bright rooms. Really friendly staff. The outdoor pool is…read moreheated and has a lovely seated area. It also has an indoor pool and gym. The kids dedicated play area keeps my lot busy for hours and there's also a brilliant range of kids clubs in school holidays. The food is excellent and caters for kids with more than just the usual nuggets and sausages. I would recommend this hotel to everyone.