good beaches / camping near London?

[Cha]

Live in SE London and want to get out of it more often! Now the weather is improving, we want to make use of the stupidly large Zafira we bought and do a few weekend camping trips. We have two small children - 21 months and 3.5 - so long car journeys are a no-no.
We know east Anglia and Pembrokeshire really well but have no idea about the south coast at all. Prefer sandy beaches if possible or even places with a nice river to paddle in would be fine. Does anyone know of good campsites and /or beaches that are within 2 hours of south London? MUST be dog friendly as we can't leave the hound behind.

[otto]

The witterings are the beaches near Chichester. There's and east and a west wittering, but I don't know which one is nicer

[tarantula]

Climping (near Littlehampton) has a sandy beach and Im sure there are campsites near there too. Been a while since Ive been there tho.

[Marina]

West Wittering is "naicer" and more refined, East Wittering is perfectly OK, just not as unspoiled and ritzy! The whole of that part of the coast is lovely, but a bit of a hike from SE London.
Cha, I think you are going to experience problems with taking your hound to Kent or Sussex beaches in the high season. A lot of the nicest ones are dog-free which I must admit I prefer, until one realises how it must penalise responsible dog-owners.
Some of the nicest beaches within travelling distance of SE London include Broadstairs, St Mary's Bay, Camber Sands. Round Camber/Rye might be well worth a look as this is pretty countryside with a lot of campsites (sorry, not a camper myself so no idea about nice sites...).
Romney Marsh is atmospheric - near Folkestone.

[Cha]

Thanks for all the info - now I have a better idea of where to look. I think I remember vaguely that there was a dog friendly beaches website... will do a google on it.

Anyone else any recommendations?

[knakered]

West Wittering is fabulous...there are some great campsites within walking distance of the beach (nunnington Farm)...wicks farm is also good...we always do a day trip and get down in about 1 3/4 hrs from bucks ...you have to pay £5 to park on the beach...we also always check the tide times as when it is out the beach is huge, sea v shallow and warm pools are left for the little ones to play in....if you go to the very end of the carpark there is the most beautiful sheltered walk through the sand dunes..its National Trust and you can take yhe dog...Chichester is a lovely little town with lots of nice restaurants ...

[Cha]

Thanks knackered - great tips. West Wittering - ho!