A weekend in Bournemouth

This Bournemouth weekend pairs grand houses with open countryside, and the driving between stops stays short. Day one starts at Ashcombe House, a stately home, before a 7.6-mile hop to Hod Hill, cared for by the National Trust. Day two opens at Fiddleford Manor, just 3.9 miles on, and finishes with something lighter: the Gartell Light Railway, 7.2 miles away.

For a base by the sea, Saltwater Breeze sleeps 4. It sits 0.2 miles from Bournemouth Pier beach, whose bathing water is rated Excellent by the Environment Agency, and it's 1 mile from Bournemouth station, the nearest stop if you're arriving by train. Bigger groups could look at Arnewood Corner in Brockenhurst, which sleeps 12 and is 0.8 miles from Sway station, or Flanders Cottage in Lymington, which sleeps 8. Campers should note that the River Avon at Fordingbridge, 2.4 miles from Tom's Field Camping, is rated Poor.