Fort Brockhurst

The pentagonal brick fortress squatting on the waterfront near Lee-on-the-Solent looks like something out of a Victorian fever dream. Built in the 1860s as part of Britain's coastal defences against a French invasion that never came, Fort Brockhurst is the real deal for military history buffs - proper Palmerston fortress architecture, all geometric angles and serious defensive thinking.

You can walk the ramparts, peer into the gun emplacements, and get a genuine sense of how seriously the Victorians took invasion. The views across the Solent are decent enough, though the fort itself is the main event rather than the scenery. Allow a couple of hours if you're properly interested; an hour if you're just passing through. Kids tend to find the tunnels and dark corners entertaining, though it's not exactly action-packed entertainment.

Admission details aren't always clear online, so ring ahead before you go - the fort sometimes operates on restricted hours. It sits well within a broader Solent coastal walk, so pair it with Gilkicker Fort just along the shore for a fuller picture of 19th-century paranoia.

Staying at Kingfisher Caravan Park, barely two miles away, gives you easy access without the schlep into Southampton. It's a solid morning or afternoon activity to slot between park life and the seafront pubs of Lee-on-the-Solent proper. Not a destination in itself, but absolutely worth the short drive if military heritage interests you at all.