Royal Victoria CP Story Trail

The story trail is called “Time Trouble at Royal Victoria Country Park” and is one of Hampshire CC’s Story Trails. The trail starts at the chapel,

goes along the seafront

and ends at the Royal Victoria Country Park Play Area.

Bring a Pen!

Along the route, you have to answer questions and enter numbers into Professor Nutrino’s Great Agent Device for Gaining Extraordinary Time (‘GADGET’) so be sure to bring a pen!

Royal Victoria CP Adventure Play Area

The Royal Victoria Country Park Play Area is a well-equipped play area with a large wooden castle, slides and a jeep. 

Netley Hospital

Royal Victoria Country Park itself stands on the site of Netley Hospital, a vast Victorian military hospital that was the world’s longest building.

All that remains today is the central chapel section. 

The Beach

The park overlooks Southampton Water and has a shingle beach.

We found lots of tiny shells and a some crabs. 

Other Things to Try

Royal Victoria Country Park has seafront walks as well as a permanent orienteering course, a miniature railway and a fairy garden. They also hold regular family events.

The Cedar Rooms

Next to the play area is the Cedar Rooms, a restaurant and cafe with a large outdoor seating area. We had a delicious, wood fired pizza.

Hampshire CC’s Story Trails

This is one of Hampshire County Council’s Story Trails.  These are walks with interactive stories to read along the way, which are told by a cute character called the Story Snail.

Each Story Trail is about one mile long and divided into numbered sections. Numbered markers prompt you to read the sections of the story along the trail.

Find a Story Pack

To follow the Story Trail you need a free pack that you can either borrow from a specified place (with a Hampshire Library card and a £20 returnable deposit) or download a copy of a story trail from the internet in written or audio form. 

Each pack has a map to follow and the trail itself is marked with arrows and/or pictures of the Story Snail. 

Nearest Town: Netley, near Southampton
County: Hampshire
Nearest Postcode: SO31 5GA

Opens: Daily
Cost: Free

Where to Eat: Cafe or bring a picnic.
Facilities: Cafe, snacks, ice creams, picnic area, toilets and accessible toilets.

How Long We Spent There: 3 hours
Buggies: Buggy friendly

Parking: There are several good sized, pay and display car parks around the park.
Cost of Parking: From £1.80 per hour to a maximum of £4 per day.

Wildlife You Might See: Deer, ducks, seabirds and sea creatures.

Information Written: May 2017
Information Checked: July 2025

Our visit to Royal Victoria Country Park, including following the Royal Victoria Country Park Story Trail, in Netley, near Southampton, is summarised below and you can add your own rating under ‘User Rating’ or in the ‘Add Comment’ section below.

Netley Park

Royal Victoria Country Park stands on the site of Netley Hospital, a vast Victorian military hospital that was the world’s longest building. 

Today, all that remains of the quarter of a mile long building is the central chapel, but by walking around the park you can get a sense of its enormous scale.

This photo was taken from one end of the hospital building – the chapel was the middle of the building, there was a whole other wing on the other side!

Southampton Water

The country park overlooks Southampton Water, which has a busy, slightly industrial feel – boats of all sizes regularly sail past and there is what looks like a refinery on the opposite shore.

The Beach

The shingle beaches are covered in little shells.

We collected about thirty in ten minutes.

There are ramps down onto the beach for easy access. In other places you have to jump!

Rock Pools and Crabbing

It might not look like it, but rock pools form amongst the pebbles along the beach.

If you look closely, you may spot a crab!

We managed to find quite a few.

Then let them go and watched as they buried themselves again.

Royal Victoria CP Story Trail

The Royal Victoria Country Park Story Trail is called “Time Trouble at Royal Victoria Country Park“ and follows Professor Nutrino, a Time Agent, as she battles to fix a tear in time…with a little help from your children.

And There’s More

The park also has fields to play in

a miniature railway called the Royal Victoria Railway

a permanent orienteering course (course map available from the Visitor Centre), family activities and a fairy garden…

…with a huge picnic table guarded by a wizard!

The Cedar Rooms

Next to the play area is the Cedar Rooms, a restaurant and cafe with a large outdoor seating area. We had a delicious, wood fired pizza.

The Paths

The fields were dry and the paths were flat and easy to push a buggy along.  

Some still show signs of the past.

Royal Victoria CP Adventure Play Area

The Royal Victoria Country Park Adventure Play Area play equipment includes things like:

• a large wooden fort with slides, tunnels, nets, a wobbly bridge and easy to climb ramps
• lots of different swings
• a roundabout
• a music wall
• a multiplay for younger children.

Nearest Town: Netley, near Southampton
County: Hampshire
Nearest Postcode: SO31 5GA

Opens: Daily
Cost: Free

Where to Eat: The Cedar Rooms cafe and restaurant or bring a picnic.
Facilities: Cafe, snacks, ice creams, picnic area, toilets and accessible toilets.

How Long We Spent There: 3 hours
Buggies: Buggy friendly

Parking: There are several, good sized, pay and display car parks around the park.
Cost of Parking: From £1.80 per hour to a maximum of £4 per day

Wildlife You Might See: Deer, ducks, seagulls, waterbirds and sea creatures.

Information Written: May 2017
Information Checked: July 2025

Our visit to Royal Victoria Country Park in Netley, near Southampton, is summarised below and you can add your own rating under ‘User Rating’ or in the ‘Add Comment’ section below.

Lepe Country Park

If you need an energy busting day then plan on paddling, sand castles and fossil finding before the tide comes in and then fairy door hunts, adventure play and a nature walk.

Or if you just want somewhere to relax, just sit back and enjoy the view.

Meadows

Alternatively, walk towards the east end of the beach past wild flower meadows on one side and the sea on the other.

This is a buggy friendly route that leads you to the beach, Lepe Point and Stansore Point, where the path becomes much sandier.

Lepe Point Nature Reserve

Lepe Point Nature Reserve, is a protected area of woodland and meadows with a boardwalk, pond and bird hide.

Stansore Point

Stansore Point is a good place to sit and enjoy the view, whether you want to watch huge ships cruise The Solent or gaze across at the Isle of Wight.

D-Day Remnants

There are D-Day remnants near Stansore Point, including pier heads, construction platforms and slip ways.

You can see pictures and find further details on the New Forest Remembers website.

Fossil Finding

At Stansore Point it is also possible to find fossils of shells, plants and mammal bones, including mammoth bones. I understand it is best to look when the tide is out and to bring wellies in case the clay is exposed.

Have a look at the UK Fossil Collecting website for full details.

You can also have a look at the western end of the beach where you can find fossil shells and corals. 

Dinosaur Footprint

Inside the Visitor Centre is a dinosaur footprint, which was found at Lepe. It is on the floor on the right of the desk by the window.

Fairy Door Trails

There are two trails to choose from – one through the Sensory Garden and another across the wild flower meadows and cliffs. 

The doors are marked on a map and are each in a different type of tree with a little explanation about the kind of fairy living inside. 

Lepe Beach

There is a family beach area, which is a very short walk from the car park. 

Further down the beach, low tide reveals a spit of land where we found crabs amongst the rocks, dug holes to catch the sea, built up huge sand castles and found interesting stones, including one of the bone shaped ‘fossils’ mentioned above.

Lepe Country Park Adventure Play Area

The Lepe Country Park Play Area is a wooden adventure play area with equipment that includes:

• a swing
• a toddler swing
• a basket swing
• insect shaped springers
• a seesaw
• play houses
• a double slide with easy to climb stairs
• an obstacle course with logs, stumps, ropes and nets
• a wooden climbing frame
• a snake balance trail
• picnic tables
• seats.

Nearest Town: Exbury, New Forest
County: Hampshire
Nearest Postcode: SO45 1AD

Opens: Daily
Cost: Free

Where to Eat: Try the cafe or bring a picnic.
Facilities: Cafe, picnic area, snacks, ice creams, barbecues, toilets and accessible toilets.

How Long We Spent There: 4 hours
Buggies: There are some pathways that are buggy friendly along the seafront.  The beach itself can be hard to push a buggy along because it is divided by wooden posts, many of which have rotted to near sand level and are splintered in places.

Parking: There are two pay and display car parks – one next to the play area and fairy trails and another next to the beach, Visitor Centre and cafe. These are connected by stairs that lead down to the beach but we drove between the two because we were using a buggy. We parked easily in both but it must be very busy at peak times.
Cost of Parking: For April to September start at £2.50 for one hour and an all day ticket costs £9.50.

Wildlife You Might See: Seaside wildlife, seabirds and other birds, butterflies and other insects.

Information Written: September 2017
Information Checked: May 2023

Our visit to Lepe Country Park in Exbury in the New Forest is summarised below and you can add your own rating under ‘User Rating’ or in the ‘Add Comment’ section below.

Hurst Spit

Hurst Spit separates the sea and the Lymington River Estuary.  

To one side it has mudflats and salt marshes.  

To the other it has the sea and views to the Isle of Wight and the Needles. 

Swimming or using inflatables in the sea here is not recommended as the currents are very strong.

Walking to Hurst Castle

The walk to the castle is about two miles and is part of the Solent Way. It is not the easiest of walks.  Sturdy footwear is recommended and it is hard going with a buggy.

You can pick up the path to Hurst Spit and Hurst Castle from Keyhaven Car Park – just head for the Hurst Castle Ferry and then keep walking.  

Sailing to Hurst Castle

If you would like to visit Hurst Castle but don’t fancy the walk or have little ones with you, then consider the Hurst Castle ferry.  

It is a beautiful 20 minute ferry ride through salt marshes, mud flats and moored boats. 

Hurst Castle

Hurst Castle is an artillery fort that was built in the 16th century by Henry VIII to protect the Solent, Southampton and Portsmouth. 

It is one of the best preserved of Henry VIII’s castles and had an active military role until the mid-20th century.

Nearest Town: Lymington, New Forest
County: Hampshire
Nearest Postcode: SO41 0TP takes you to Keyhaven Car Park and if you keep driving, Hurst Spit. 

Opens: Daily

Adult Cost Range: Hurst Spit is free but there are various costs for castle entry – please see the websites for details.
Child Cost Range: Hurst Spit is free but there are various costs for castle entry – please see the websites for details.
Free if: Hurst Spit is free. Children under 5 years enter the castle for free.

Where to Eat: Eat at the Hurst Castle cafe or bring a picnic.
Facilities: There are toilets and accessible toilets inside Hurt Castle. There are no toilets available for people not visiting the castle. There is a cafe outside the castle that is available to all visitors.

How Long We Spent There: 4 hours
Buggies: Not buggy friendly. 

Parking: Pay and display car park at Keyhaven. 
Cost of Parking: From £3 for two hours.

Wildlife You Might See: Fish, crabs, seabirds and sea creatures.

Information Written: January 2023

Our visit to Hurst Spit and Hurst Castle near Milford on Sea in the New Forest, is summarised below and you can add your own rating under ‘User Rating’ or in the ‘Add Comment’ section below.

Rock Pooling

Low tide reveals sandy areas and rock pools where we have spotted fish, crabs and anemones. The rocks can be slippery though so take care.

Be sure to plan your visit around the tides. At high tide there is hardly any beach and it would be easy to become cut off. 

The Purbeck Marine Wildlife Reserve and Snorkel Trail

The sea around Kimmeridge Bay is protected as the Purbeck Marine Wildlife Reserve. There is a 400m long snorkelling nature trail around the marine reserve that has good visibility. 

For details, drop into the Fine Foundation Marine Centre, which is run by the Dorset Wildlife Trust, and has exhibits with information on the bay’s wildlife as well as equipment to hire.

Fossil Hunting

It is easy to find fossils at Kimmeridge Bay. 

This photo shows one of two large fossilised ammonite shells that are visible as you walk along the beach. To find these, turn left at the bottom of the stairs that lead down from the car park and keep your eyes peeled. 

It is also possible to find fossils on or inside rocks lying on the beach (but note that you are not allowed to use hammers). 

If you are very lucky you may even find bones from marine reptiles.  

The Etches Collection Museum of Jurassic Marine Life 

The Etches Collection is a brilliant museum that displays and brings to life the fossils you find at Kimmeridge Bay. It is interactive, modern, fun and informative and a must visit if you are going fossil hunting. 

The museum is about a five minute drive from the beach. We visit  during high tide, whether that is before or after we go to the beach.

Accessibility

The beach is accessed by a steep flight of stairs. The beach itself is fairly flat but the rocks can be slippery when wet. 

There are warning signs that the cliffs are dangerous and can be unstable, so we never go near the cliffs.

Nearest Town: Kimmeridge, near Wareham
County: Dorset
Nearest Postcode: BH20 5PF

Opens: Daily
Cost: Free

Where to Eat: Bring a picnic. 
Facilities: Portaloo toilets.

How Long We Spent There: 1 hour
Buggies: The beach is accessed by a steep flight of stairs that are hard to take a buggy down.

Parking: There is good sized car park.
Cost of Parking: Free but there is a toll road that operates in high season. 

Information Written: October 2019

Our visit to Kimmeridge Bay and The Etches Collection Museum of Jurassic Marine Life in Kimmeridge, near Wareham, is summarised below and you can add your own rating under ‘User Rating’ or in the ‘Add Comment’ section below.

Bognor Regis West Beach

These rocks are at the western end of the beach, near the beach huts. They are visible at low tide. We had read that these rocks are full of fossils and that under the right conditions, the sea also sweeps away the sand to reveal fossil-filled clay underneath.

The Fossils

Unfortunately, when we visited sand was covering the clay and we did not find any loose fossils. We saw a few tiny fossils (1 or 2mm wide) that were embedded in the hard rocks.

Sandcastles and Swimming

 At low tide, West Beach is a great place to build a sandcastle but we suspect that the submerged rocks could make paddling and swimming difficult. 

Access to the Beach

The land is protected by stones so bring a buggy that can cope.

Nearest Town: Bognor Regis
County: West Sussex
Nearest Postcode: PO21 2FZ

Opens: Daily
Cost: Free

Where to Eat: Bring a picnic and a blanket, cafe and refreshment stands.
Facilities: Cafes, ice cream, toilets near the pier. 

How Long We Spent There: 1 hour
Buggies: You need to bring a buggy that can handle the stony slope and sand. 

Parking: There are parking spaces on the road by the beach.
Cost of Parking: Free when we visited (the machines were covered so we could not see when charges apply).

Wildlife You Might See: Sealife and seabirds.

Information Written: January 2017

Our visit to West Beach in Bognor Regis is summarised below and you can add your own rating under ‘User Rating’ or in the ‘Add Comment’ section below.