Local Attractions
Paultons Park with Peppa Pig World
A great day out with the children (and big kids). There is plenty to do there and everyone will absolutely love it! Peppa Pig world is for the smaller children and Paultons Park is mainly for the bigger kids/grown ups. The parks are joined and tickets give you access to both parks.
Marwell Zoo
140-acre wildlife park with 5 adventure playgrounds. Home to hundreds of animals from the endangered Amur tigers, snow leopards and white rhinos to giraffes, gibbons and penguins. Daily talks and animal feeds. There are also several cafés and a gift shop.
Portsmouth Historic Dockyard
Portsmouth Historic Dockyard is the UK’s premier destination for naval history. It’s a must-see for anyone visiting the South of England. A visit to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard takes you on a journey through time, allowing you to step on board world-famous ships.
Climb on-board majestic warships, explore heroic submarines and uncover some of the navy’s best-kept secrets with first-hand accounts from the Royal Navy’s finest, past and present including HMS Victory, The Mary Rose, HMS Warrior, HMS Alliance submarine, the Royal Navy Museum as well as Harbour Tours.
Action Stations
Action stations is a high-tech, interactive indoor attraction. It features a unique series of physical challenges, simulators and technological experiments, which put visitors at the heart of the modern naval experience.
At Action Stations visitors can reach dizzy heights when they attempt to scale the tallest indoor climbing tower in the UK. Soaring to a height of 8.4 metres (over 27 feet), a built-in LCD timer and differing degrees of difficulty are available, assess your own speed and agility, as well as compete against friends and family.
Longdown Activity Farm
A lovely ‘hands on experience’ farm. There are extra activities every hour where you can help feed the goats their milk, watch the ducks being fed etc. In good weather they run a tractor ride around the bumpy field which is lots of fun. Mini tractors for the children to ride on, a soft play centre and an outdoor park too.
Hedge End Golf Centre
Hedge End has a 50 bay state of the art driving range. The entire range has flood lighting for full vision in the dark, making practice possible in the evenings. There is also spot lighting throughout the range to illuminate the targets and yardage signs. The range is open seven day a week.
Queen Elizabeth Country Park
With over 2,000 acres of woodland, Queen Elizabeth Country Park is the ideal place to explore the great outdoors.
The park has spectacular views over the South Downs. There are easy strolls to longer rambles and routes to suit all ages and abilities. Long distance routes include the South Downs Way, the Staunton Way, the Shipwrights Way and the Hangers Way.
There is an adventure park for the children to play on as well as an assault course and dog agility course.
QECP has cycling trails for both beginners and advanced cyclists. It is a great place to explore with the dogs too.
There is a restaurant and several drinks huts spotted throughout the park. They also have BBQs available to book in the picnic areas
Spinnaker Tower
Experience the view from Spinnaker Tower – the stunning 170-metre icon of the South Coast and Britain’s best viewing tower.
Discover some of the fascinating stories of the people and places that have helped form Portsmouth’s rich history with the Sail of the Solent animated pre-show. Then, ascend to the view decks to see where all the action took place and delve into the secrets of this most fascinating sea and landscape, with the interactive i-view interpretation screens.
Venture across the amazing glass Sky Walk and watch the boats bobbing about in the waves below your feet, then test your head for heights with Altitude – a cutting-edge virtual reality experience, which takes you on a walk along one of the ‘ribs’ that make up the tower’s iconic spinnaker shape.
Solent Hotel & Spa
Located just 15mins from the barns, journey into a stress-free life with a day of calm tranquillity. Your day begin with refreshments in the relaxation area with robes and slippers provided. During the day, you can choose whether you would like to relax in the whirlpool and steam room or pool; with 3 hours per person, per spa day. There are various packages to pick from including ones with treatments and afternoon tea.
Bishops Waltham
Just a 5 minutes drive down the road is the beautiful village of Bishops Waltham. It hosts some lovely independent shops as well as cafes and pubs. You can also find there the Bishops Waltham Palace ruins. Much remains of the 12th and 14th century buildings, which were begun by Bishop Henry of Blois, brother of King Stephen. Set within attractive grounds, they include the impressive three-storey tower and the fine windows of the great hall built by William of Wykeham, bishop from 1367 and founder of Winchester College and New College, Oxford. A great place for a little stroll.