Before we Left Lymington we headed off for a walk to Hurst Castle. we parked at the end of Hurst Spit and walked along the spit (long pebble beach) to the castle, and it was sooooo cold and windy. We got to the castle (English Heritage) at about 3.15pm and they shut at 4.30pm so just enough time for a trot round. It was very interesting with the original centre of the castle/fort dating back to Henry VIII and because it was so quiet we were able to take the dogs on the walls etc when we probably shouldn’t have!
The next day was a travelling day to our next site at Barnham, a small flat field on a farm with a barrier to open before you can get a caravan in or out, once pitched we popped to Bognor Regis – we didn’t stay long as it didn’t really appeal to us. The front and promenade were nice enough, pebble beach again which was ok , had a walk along the pier which is privately owned and a bit tatty, then walked back to the car through the town centre which is not that nice!
Phil went out early the next day on his bike, he went into the South Downs and did around 36k riding in forests, across chalk fields and with some fantastic views. When he got back we set out for Arundel. This is a very impressive place, it is a small town on a hill with two incredibly imposing landmarks; a cathedral and a huge castle. We parked on street and had a walk th
rough the very pretty town and down to the river Arun where you get to look up at the front of the castle, and get a true sense of its scale. We walked along the river and out of the town to the entrance to Arundel Park, a country park owned by the castle but open to the public. A sign on the gate said no cycles, horses, cars, motorbikes, lorries, dogs or anything but bipeds were allowed! Linda popped into the nearby café and asked the lad in there if the sign was true and he said we were fine to go in with the dogs on a lead, but stick to the rights of way. So off we trotted past the man made duck lake and up into the very pretty park. When we got to the top 
we came across a folly tower with a gallop running alongside it. No sign of any horses so we crossed and headed around and back towards the town, coming across a mobile racehorse start gate for 3 horses. Back in the town we decided to stop for a pint in The St Mary’s Gate Inn as they allowed dogs, the barman told us that the castle used to have the largest group of racehorses in the UK, and still has around 120 on site now! Out of the pub and we were stood at the foot of the huge cathedral, we had a walk through its grounds before heading back into town where we popped to the butchers to get some rations.
We had spotted earlier in the week that Chichester had a market on today, so we decided t
hat this would be the day for us to visit. Just as we had parked and were getting out we heard a loud bang and Linda saw a car drive straight over a give way and smash into the side of another! We went over to check everyone was ok and saw that by the time we had walked over they were all ok and already arguing! So on we went for a wander around Chichester city centre, lovely place with lots of old buildings and a lovely market square, it reminded us of Chester. The cathedral was looking great as it had been recently cleaned and was showing up really well in the bright sunshine. We both went inside the cathedral and had a look at the fantastic stained glass and huge tapestries before heading out and having a little bit more of a walk around the town walls.
We then drove up to Goodwood country park before heading along a bridleway passed the Goodwood racecourse to a small village called Charlton, on the way there Prince spotted a rabbit in the track and gave chase, to our surprise, and unusually for his lumbering pace, he caught it. We ran after him and gave him a big telling off before realising it had Mixi, luckily Prince hadn’t broken the skin, and the rabbit wandered off even more dazed and confused, poor thing.
Next was a visit to Portsmouth. On the way we saw a couple of tanks driving down the road. The soldiers sticking their heads out the top saw our look of glee and gave us a wave as they
passed, then as we joined the dual carriageway and they left we passed them and got another wave! We drove into the centre of Portsmouth and parked in a multi storey, so ambled through the shops to the huge spinnaker tower, here we took some photos and carried on round with the dogs to the historic dockyard but we were told the dogs weren’t allowed in. Boo. We sat on the front of the quay and ate our butties with a view of HMS Warrior, built in 1860 and in its day at the cutting edge of naval warfare as it was the worlds first iron clad ship. After lunch we popped into the TIC and bought some Spinnaker Tower tickets. The view from the tower was great, a panoramic view of Portsmouth, the Isle of Wight, and out to Ly
mington where we had just stayed. The tower also had a section of glass floor which Linda bravely stepped onto first, a straight down view of the concrete over 100ft below! After we left the tower we headed for the historic docklands a
gain. This time without dogs (they were in the car) we were able to wander through and see HMS Victory the world famous warship which played a huge part in establishing Britain’s maritime supremacy and was the scene of the death of Admiral Nelson. The ship is now kept in a dry 
dock and you are able to walk around it, it is quite a sight and very thought provoking. We stopped at a pub, The Ship Anson, for a drink and then headed back to the car and drove out of the centre to Southsea Castle. On the way there we saw t
he hovercraft which goes to the Isle of Wight parked up next to the promenade, so hopped out to take a look. We only had to wait a few minutes and it blew up its skirts, turned round on the beach and set off for Ryde, it was amazing to see and very noisy! Then we continued to the castle, unfortunately it was closed, but we had a great view of it from the outside as you are able to walk all the way around, we had a walk along the seafront and under the South Pier (an amusement arcade) before heading back to Tonks and out of Portsmouth.
We have now moved to Kloofs caravan park in Bexhill on Sea, luckily with no more mishaps on the way!
The next day was a travelling day to our next site at Barnham, a small flat field on a farm with a barrier to open before you can get a caravan in or out, once pitched we popped to Bognor Regis – we didn’t stay long as it didn’t really appeal to us. The front and promenade were nice enough, pebble beach again which was ok , had a walk along the pier which is privately owned and a bit tatty, then walked back to the car through the town centre which is not that nice!
Phil went out early the next day on his bike, he went into the South Downs and did around 36k riding in forests, across chalk fields and with some fantastic views. When he got back we set out for Arundel. This is a very impressive place, it is a small town on a hill with two incredibly imposing landmarks; a cathedral and a huge castle. We parked on street and had a walk th
rough the very pretty town and down to the river Arun where you get to look up at the front of the castle, and get a true sense of its scale. We walked along the river and out of the town to the entrance to Arundel Park, a country park owned by the castle but open to the public. A sign on the gate said no cycles, horses, cars, motorbikes, lorries, dogs or anything but bipeds were allowed! Linda popped into the nearby café and asked the lad in there if the sign was true and he said we were fine to go in with the dogs on a lead, but stick to the rights of way. So off we trotted past the man made duck lake and up into the very pretty park. When we got to the top 
we came across a folly tower with a gallop running alongside it. No sign of any horses so we crossed and headed around and back towards the town, coming across a mobile racehorse start gate for 3 horses. Back in the town we decided to stop for a pint in The St Mary’s Gate Inn as they allowed dogs, the barman told us that the castle used to have the largest group of racehorses in the UK, and still has around 120 on site now! Out of the pub and we were stood at the foot of the huge cathedral, we had a walk through its grounds before heading back into town where we popped to the butchers to get some rations.We had spotted earlier in the week that Chichester had a market on today, so we decided t
hat this would be the day for us to visit. Just as we had parked and were getting out we heard a loud bang and Linda saw a car drive straight over a give way and smash into the side of another! We went over to check everyone was ok and saw that by the time we had walked over they were all ok and already arguing! So on we went for a wander around Chichester city centre, lovely place with lots of old buildings and a lovely market square, it reminded us of Chester. The cathedral was looking great as it had been recently cleaned and was showing up really well in the bright sunshine. We both went inside the cathedral and had a look at the fantastic stained glass and huge tapestries before heading out and having a little bit more of a walk around the town walls.We then drove up to Goodwood country park before heading along a bridleway passed the Goodwood racecourse to a small village called Charlton, on the way there Prince spotted a rabbit in the track and gave chase, to our surprise, and unusually for his lumbering pace, he caught it. We ran after him and gave him a big telling off before realising it had Mixi, luckily Prince hadn’t broken the skin, and the rabbit wandered off even more dazed and confused, poor thing.
Next was a visit to Portsmouth. On the way we saw a couple of tanks driving down the road. The soldiers sticking their heads out the top saw our look of glee and gave us a wave as they
passed, then as we joined the dual carriageway and they left we passed them and got another wave! We drove into the centre of Portsmouth and parked in a multi storey, so ambled through the shops to the huge spinnaker tower, here we took some photos and carried on round with the dogs to the historic dockyard but we were told the dogs weren’t allowed in. Boo. We sat on the front of the quay and ate our butties with a view of HMS Warrior, built in 1860 and in its day at the cutting edge of naval warfare as it was the worlds first iron clad ship. After lunch we popped into the TIC and bought some Spinnaker Tower tickets. The view from the tower was great, a panoramic view of Portsmouth, the Isle of Wight, and out to Ly
mington where we had just stayed. The tower also had a section of glass floor which Linda bravely stepped onto first, a straight down view of the concrete over 100ft below! After we left the tower we headed for the historic docklands a
gain. This time without dogs (they were in the car) we were able to wander through and see HMS Victory the world famous warship which played a huge part in establishing Britain’s maritime supremacy and was the scene of the death of Admiral Nelson. The ship is now kept in a dry 
dock and you are able to walk around it, it is quite a sight and very thought provoking. We stopped at a pub, The Ship Anson, for a drink and then headed back to the car and drove out of the centre to Southsea Castle. On the way there we saw t
he hovercraft which goes to the Isle of Wight parked up next to the promenade, so hopped out to take a look. We only had to wait a few minutes and it blew up its skirts, turned round on the beach and set off for Ryde, it was amazing to see and very noisy! Then we continued to the castle, unfortunately it was closed, but we had a great view of it from the outside as you are able to walk all the way around, we had a walk along the seafront and under the South Pier (an amusement arcade) before heading back to Tonks and out of Portsmouth.We have now moved to Kloofs caravan park in Bexhill on Sea, luckily with no more mishaps on the way!
Hi Phil and Lynda.
ReplyDeleteI have just received the link for this blog from Mum; a bit late in coming coz it would have been nice to invite you over to Yeovil. Never mind, if you are back this way be sure to drop us a line.
I'll continue to track your progress!
Love, Roger.
(roger.barnett@talktalk.net)