With its mix of history, great food, family entertainment and sea views across the expansive common, Southsea is a brilliant destination to take the kids for a summer day out.
SUMMER IN THE CITY
Summer is here so we are heading off to the seaside resort of Southsea for a brunch time outing. It has a great variety of activities on offer for everyone to enjoy. We are focusing our attention on the heart of Southsea, which retains its seaside resort vibe but with an engaging range of cultural and historical hotspots to enhance any visit. Plus, we love the presence of so many independent shops, bars and restaurants to enhance the sense of discovery, alongside the traditional seaside entertainment such as the funfair. We suggest arriving hungry as you are bound to leave full!
ON TWO WHEELS
Southsea's parks create a wonderful sense of space and greenery just a pebble’s throw from the beaches. You can walk or ride right along the waterfront from Old Portsmouth to Eastney with its views over to Hayling Island. You can even catch the hover ferry over to the Isle of Wight to extend your coastal exploration. We brought the bikes, and the flat, off-road routes are great for children.
FOOD WITH A VIEW
Our chosen brunch stop was the Southsea Beach Café, which is by the beach near the Canoe Lake on Eastney Esplanade. It promotes locally sourced seasonal foods and welcomes children and dogs. We loved sitting on the terrace tucking into dishes ranging from smashed avocado and eggs to an SBC breakfast burrito. For the more traditional among us, they offer British breakfast favourites like kippers and full English. What could be better than looking out to sea, watching the world go by?
CALM WATERS
Following our delicious brunch, we were up for some exercise to burn off some energy, so we hopped back on our bikes and headed off to the Canoe Lake, one of the oldest parks in the area, dating back to 1886 and providing plenty of colour with its traditional rose and flower beds. Situated a minute's cycle from the café and set back from the seafront, the lake has a great atmosphere during the summer months and is very family friendly.
SWAN LAKE
With the lake providing shelter for scores of nesting mute swans, we decided to join them and hire a swan pedalo (of course) to head out on to the boating lake. It was hard to get the children to leave with the great playgrounds to burn off energy, miniature golf and even tennis courts. This is a great spot too to take in some of the gorgeous historical architecture which surrounds the lake.
Once our legs had recovered from all the pedalo action, we made our way along the esplanade, using the handy bike lanes, to visit Southsea Castle and take in some of the history of the area, blended with its maritime heritage. Entry here is free, with the castle dating back to 1544, built during Henry VIII’s reign. The Iconic lighthouse was built a little later in the early 19h century.
For history lovers the castle site provides a wealth of information on its fascinating history. It was built as part of Henry VIII’s coastal defence plans in readiness for a potential attack by French forces on Portsmouth. Designed for firing multiple cannons from different vantage points, the layout of the castle was different from previous eras to reflect the introduction of gunpowder, walls were lower so that longer firing distances could be achieved.
A NEW DEFENCE
Today, the Southsea Coastal Scheme is a new form of defence, a project that is well underway. This time around the defences are focused on the force of mother nature to defend against flooding rather than invaders. More than 4,000 properties are at direct risk, hence the local authority Implementing the scheme which includes huge mounds of boulders stacked together to form a sea wall. The scheme shows how Southsea constantly changes and evolves to respond to the ever changing environmental and social needs of the time.
KISS ME QUICK
No visit to Southsea is complete without a trip to the funfair, either on South Parade Pier or Clarence Pier Amusement Park. The restored pier offers family entertainment at its finest, from the rides and arcades to the traditional fish and chips, ice cream and candy floss. Take a stroll along the wooden decks and look out over the Solent, watch the people fishing or try a spot of crabbing yourself. It's the perfect place to make summer memories.
