We arrived at the campsite early evening and had a great spot by the water.  This was our first time camping with our friends Kim and Danny in their VW T5 called Boycie.  Our pitches were next to each other and very spacious.  When they arrived we all jumped in Boycie to head to the pub for dinner.

We had paid extra to be able to use our paddleboards, but unfortunately, by morning the tide had gone out, not to be seen until evening.  (note to self – check tide times!)

Not to be deterred, the following morning we set off on our bicycles to explore the island.  The first stop was at a café called The Mad Hatters Tea Room for a full English to set us up for the day.  Feeling stuffed we headed off the find the Billy Trail.  This is a is a track used by walkers, cyclists and horse riders along the bed of an old railway line between Havant and Hayling Island. This route follows the path in its entirety and is flat.  There and back was 13 miles, with great views along the route.  We stopped at the Royal Oak in Havant for Coffee, which came with probably the smallest biscuit I have ever seen!  The weather was getting colder so we hot footed it back to the campsite.

That evening we all piled back into Boycie to drive to the Ferry Boat Inn for dinner.  This is a pub on the beach that  serves traditional pub food.

The next morning we had to be off the campsite so we packed up the vans and drove to West Beach car park.  This is a pay and display car par at £7.20 for the day.  The weather was better and the sun came out.  Out came the paddleboads and kayaks and we hit the sea.  The wind was a bit too strong for our kayak as Donald was in it on his own.  At one point the wind caught it and I thought he was going to end up in France!  He was so busy taking videos that he didn’t notice!  The sea was also a bit choppy but I only fell off once!  Before heading home we had a shower in the van and noticed the water was running out the side of the van.  Something else to add to the list of repairs and maintenance, re-seal the shower tray.

After a fun day at the seaside it was time to head home, but not without stopping at one final pub on route for dinner 🙂

 A great fun weekend with friends.

Fishery Creek Touring park