Summer Holidays – Southampton

Cara’s school usually clocks off two weeks earlier than state schools. This means we get to enjoy some off-peak fun and beat the rush. This year, due to Covid again, our Mallorca plans fell through and we were left scrambling to find a replacement. From nowhere, Cara’s Mum saved the summer holidays. It wasn’t the same as Spain, but a holiday is a holiday. So, we packed up for a staycation to avoid any amber lists and would be spending our summer holidays in Southampton and Isle of Wight. Over the new few posts, we’ll guide you through what we got up to and hopefully provide some ideas for your own summer holidays. Our first stop was Southampton

Date Visited: 7th – 9th July 2021

Location: West Quay area, Southampton, SO15

Getting There: We loaded up the car and took the c.2 hour drive down. 

Off we go…

After switching off the work laptop early on Wednesday, we made our way down to Southampton from South East London. We encountered a little traffic midway, but otherwise it was a fairly smooth drive down. The journey to your summer holidays generally sets the tone for the rest of the trip. We stayed at the Leonardo Royal Southampton Grand Harbour mainly due to it being close to the Red Funnel ferry terminal and because it had a pool. Arriving a dinner time, we checked-in and made our way over to West Quay as we noticed the Five Guys sign lit up. Little did we know, when we walked over that there was so many more options available. 

We walked around to scope out what to eat, and in the end settled for Bill’s. Surprisingly, it was very quiet around West Quay even though it wasn’t that late. During our time in Southampton, we also ate at Cosmo which was value for money, and L’Osteria which had huge pizzas! 

Once we binged ourselves silly each night, we ventured around the town, checking out the city walls and Tudor homes. To be honest, as our main holiday was Isle of Wight, we didn’t really research Southampton and winged most of our time there. It also coincided with England’s Euro 2020 semi-final match. 

It’s a family friendly town and I’m sure with better research you could maximise your time there. However, we primarily used this as a stopover. It’s a great place to base yourself before visiting Paulton’s Park, home of Peppa Pig World, and also Isle of Wight, or a cruise. Easy access with plenty of activities to keep busy.

Share your recommendations in the comments below if you’ve had your summer holidays in Southampton recently!

Other ideas…

If Southampton isn’t your cup of tea, then feel free to peruse our summer holidays ideas from the previous years:

Summer Holidays 2018 – 5 tips to plan for it, it’s not too late

Ideas for Summer Holidays 2019

Things to do; Summer Holidays 2020