Sam Hill, spokeswoman for the Camping and Caravanning Club, which has an amazing 400,000 members in the UK (most of them stuck in front of me on the motorway), recommends Folkestone and the Kent coast. "It's gorgeous," she says. "There's an excellent campsite right next to the beach and lovely cliff-top views. You have easy access to all the coastal areas and France is just a short hop away if you want to take a day trip." The town of Folkestone may not, it is true, be that exciting, but nearby Hythe has the world's smallest public railway - trains are a third of the size of normal ones - running 14 miles across Romney Marsh to Dungeness. Children in your party may also be interested in nearby Port Lympne Wild Animal Park, which has the largest herd of African elephants in the UK.
I'm sure that person also got their campsite into a best campsites in the world1 chart in a national paper recently, excellent PR journo manipulation skills to whoever was involved!
This is my site The FG that I set up in a fury of excitement when we first moved to Folkestone sometime in '04. I had been a frequent visitor for a while previous to that so I am technically one of those DFLs you get now. This site was updated more frequently with a calendar of events + voting for best venues and things, and I know it was a useful resource for those who were moving here. Now I've moved out of Folkestone again (though only to Hythe) it doesn't get as much attention as it used to. Ironic really as The town is now becoming the exciting place we always thought it was just about to. My name is not Gerald by the way, the name comes from a pretend newspaper in an episode of The Day Today or something, the Portsmouth Gerald, + how there is a local paper here called the Folkestone Herald. Puns like this are GRATE aren't they? Do get in touch if you have something to contribute, email anythign @ this domain, or try @folkestone or @pauly on the twitter.