We live in central southern England with good transport links to many areas. The M3 motorway is 5 mins away and the main train station is 2 miles away.

Nelson's Flag Ship HMS Victory (1759), King Henry VIII's flag ship the Mary Rose 1509) and HMS Warrior are at the naval dockyard in Portsmouth - 45 mins away - and well worth a day trip.

The Harry Potter film studio is just over an hour away - see the Hogwarts film sets and find out about the special effects.

The New Forest National Park is 20 miles to the west where ponies and cattle roam freely - a great place for cycling (bike hire available), walking, horse riding and picnic-ing.

The ancient stone circles at Stonehenge (3100 BC) and Avebury (2600 BC) are within an hour's drive - both are atmospheric and peaceful. You can reach the historic cities of Oxford, Salisbury (which has the tallest cathedral spire in the UK at 123m built in 1200), Chichester and Bath (visit the Roman Baths) for a day trip. Longleat Safari Park and Legoland at Windsor can also be easily reached in a day. More locally we have a theme park for children: Paulton's Park.

There are several stately homes nearby: Montacute House and Mottisfont Abbey (which has the national rose collection) as well as Jane Austen's home at Chawton. Marwell Zoo and several beaches can be easily reached. Visit Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour (the worlds largest natural harbour) and see red squirrels in the wild. The Jurassic coast of Dorset is 1.5 hours away - you can go fossil hunting at Lyme Regis.

We are 1 hour from Heathrow airport, 1.5 hours from Gatwick airport, 2.5 hours from Dover / Folkestone (for the Channel Tunnel) and 40 mins from Portsmouth (for the ferry to Caen).