The Oven Campsite

The salt-laced breeze reaches you before you even pitch your tent — this is coastal camping with the Solent a short walk away and the call of gulls as your morning alarm.

The Oven suits campers and van tourers who want a southern coast base without the glitz of bigger resorts. Hayling Island sits between Chichester and Portsmouth harbours, and it's long been a low-key favourite for sailors, windsurfers, and families who prefer shingle beaches and crabbing rocks to amusement arcades. Tent pitches and campervan spots both available, with hook-ups if you need them, and dogs are welcome by arrangement — worth asking ahead if you're bringing one.

Facilities cover the essentials: hot showers, clean loos, and mains electricity on pitch. Campfires are sometimes allowed, but check when you arrive as it varies. The vibe's relaxed and unpretentious — a proper seaside site where you can hear the tide and smell the marshes, not a manicured resort.