Wherever The Train Takes Us: Visiting Hythe

Visiting Hythe was a last-minute decision for my birthday this year but I am so glad that my husband suggested it. Jake had begged and begged us to take him on a train so we decided to combine my trip with his – he is train mad! We had originally planned a trip to London but with colds and tonsillitis getting to us we opted for the closer city of Southampton which provides an easy gateway across to Hythe.

 

The First Leg of The Journey

When we arrived at Basingstoke Station Jake was bubbling with excitement. He was grinning from ear to ear and clasping my train ticket like it was made of gold.

One of the platform workers was so sweet talking to Jake about his love of trains and giving me the tip to look on the steam train website so we could pop back up when they come through our hometown.

Once on the train, we had one very chatty little lad! He enjoyed telling us about everything he could see and was adamant that if he went up the front he could also drive the train.

In Southampton

On arrival in Southampton, my husband led us all down to the docks to catch the ferry.

The Docks are quite large but there is a section where you can catch boats over to the Isle of Wight and across the water to Hythe. The boats to Hythe run regularly as they are the quickest way to connect people. Jake was in his element having been on a train and now getting to go on a boat.

It’s only a quick journey but it was very pretty and great to see all the boats coming and going.

Visiting Hythe

Once over to Hythe, you can either choose to walk down the pier or take the small train. There was no choice for us… we had the train-loving toddler hopping straight on!

It was definitely an experience and so much fun to do. Once in the town, we were greeted by some cute shops and, somehow, Jake stumbled across the perfect toy shop which resulted in a few purchases for his wooden train track.

We had lunch at a restaurant overlooking the sea and the food was lovely.

The service was very fast and polite and Jake even managed to behave for the whole time – with the help of the new train of course!

After another wander around the town and speaking to some of the lovely shop owners, we made out way back to the pier train to begin our journey back. The perfect day for a little boy: train, boat, train, lunch, train, boat, train!

The perfect part for me was the amazing sunset as we travelled back over to Southampton.

It just goes to show that sometimes the spontaneous days are the best and I can highly recommend visiting Hythe if you are looking for something to do with the family.

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