Sometimes less is more when it comes to attracting visitors to beauty spots.

Take Queen Elizabeth Country Park, for instance. Yes, it’s got a visitor centre and plenty of trails for walkers and cyclists, but the focus remains on trees and nature.

Half a century ago all manner of whacky – and dare we say it, tacky – plans were put forward to draw more people off the A3. These included creating a series of scenic drives around the wooded site and even a monorail, but neither saw the light of day.

Up the road in Petersfield the heath and pond has also had its fair share of proposals with a miniature steam railway being dismissed by the town council around a decade ago.

The most high-octane activity at the site remains hiring a rowing boat, and you can probably thank PTC for that as they rejected another waterborne scheme in 1975.

Hayling Sailing School and Windsurfing School asked the council if they could use the pond’s sheltered waters for beginners’ classes, calling the site a perfect place to introduce newbies to the pastime.

But the scheme hit troubled waters, as the members of the Model Yacht Club feared approval might affect their activities, while anglers were even more incensed.

“It is possible there could be confrontations between anglers and boat people, which could lead to a breach of the peace,” said then town clerk, Peter Jenkins, in reading out a letter from the chairman of the angling club.

The windsurfing proposal was ultimately rejected by the council and the sailing club turned its attention to other shores, leaving the waters of Petersfield Heath Pond relatively placid.

Monorails, sailing and steam trains, all within a five mile corner of East Hampshire – to paraphrase the great 1980s gameshow Bullseye, this is what you could have had…