Phil had a good chat with Julian from the motorhome opposite before Carol and Linda came out and we were all chatting in the sunshine hoping we might meet up again sometime!
We hitched up the van and started our short journey to the CL in Lymington, spotting some tanks driving through the street on the way! Once on the A31 and well into th
e National Forest we noticed Tonks’ power was reducing and his temperature started to rise, we managed to limp to a layby where we lifted the bonnet to see steam and water pissing out! Oh no! We phoned the rescue company and they said someone would be along within an hour. Luckily the layby had a footpath into the New Forest so we took the dogs for a nice stroll while we were waiting, spotting some mountain bikers and a horse out on the bridleways. Back at Tonks, we had a call from our saviour who had spotted us, but was on the wrong side of the dual carriageway! He was soon with us, but he was in a car transporter wagon, so we instantly thought he wasn’t going to even attempt a repair. He looked under the bonnet and soon spotted that it was just a split hose, so he cut the split off and rejoined it so that we could limp on with the little bit of water we had. We made it to the site and had a lovely welcome from the owner, Stewart who settled us on our pitch.
We hitched up the van and started our short journey to the CL in Lymington, spotting some tanks driving through the street on the way! Once on the A31 and well into th
e National Forest we noticed Tonks’ power was reducing and his temperature started to rise, we managed to limp to a layby where we lifted the bonnet to see steam and water pissing out! Oh no! We phoned the rescue company and they said someone would be along within an hour. Luckily the layby had a footpath into the New Forest so we took the dogs for a nice stroll while we were waiting, spotting some mountain bikers and a horse out on the bridleways. Back at Tonks, we had a call from our saviour who had spotted us, but was on the wrong side of the dual carriageway! He was soon with us, but he was in a car transporter wagon, so we instantly thought he wasn’t going to even attempt a repair. He looked under the bonnet and soon spotted that it was just a split hose, so he cut the split off and rejoined it so that we could limp on with the little bit of water we had. We made it to the site and had a lovely welcome from the owner, Stewart who settled us on our pitch. 
We popped into Lymongton for a look around and, a lovely looking town with lots of posh shops and a lovely old harbour. We stopped in a pub for some grub and a pint before heading back and calling it a night.
Next day we went and did one of the Country Walking routes in the north of the New Forest, starting at the small hamlet of Fritham and heading into the unpopulated forest for a 5.5mile lo
op. Next day we went and did one of the Country Walking routes in the north of the New Forest, starting at the small hamlet of Fritham and heading into the unpopulated forest for a 5.5mile lo
Due to a slight navigational hiccup we ended up doing 6.2miles! The walk was great, with the sun shining on us all day! We saw lots of New Forest ponies and quite a few groups of deer, and very few people! We had our picnic perched on a fallen tree next to a nice little stream
. Once we got back to Tonks we decided to have a pint in the little pub in Fritham, the farmer was trying to round up one of his wild ponies, which was causing a bit of a stir and there were a few spectators sat in their cars, I opened the pub door to find a group of ladies having a brew who told me they were shut! Back out on the road we found that the pony had managed avoid capture and was trotting 
off down the lane, so we headed in the same direction in Tonks only to have to pull over as it was running towards us again being closely followed by a pickup and a forestry wagon! We carried on home with a stop at our local country shop where we got a toolbox for Phil, but when we came back to Tonks and drove him off Linda found that the power steering wasn’t working and she could hardly turn the wheel. As we were only a few yards from home we limped back to the campsite and then had a look under t
he bonnet. Tonk’s had managed to shear off his power steering pump pulley..
. Once we got back to Tonks we decided to have a pint in the little pub in Fritham, the farmer was trying to round up one of his wild ponies, which was causing a bit of a stir and there were a few spectators sat in their cars, I opened the pub door to find a group of ladies having a brew who told me they were shut! Back out on the road we found that the pony had managed avoid capture and was trotting 
off down the lane, so we headed in the same direction in Tonks only to have to pull over as it was running towards us again being closely followed by a pickup and a forestry wagon! We carried on home with a stop at our local country shop where we got a toolbox for Phil, but when we came back to Tonks and drove him off Linda found that the power steering wasn’t working and she could hardly turn the wheel. As we were only a few yards from home we limped back to the campsite and then had a look under t
he bonnet. Tonk’s had managed to shear off his power steering pump pulley..The next day we rang a local garage and they said we would be ok to drive Tonks the 2 miles to them. Got there ok and they took our number and said they would try and sort it as soon as possible for us. We biked back from the garage with a quick detour to have a 
look at Sway Tower, The folly of an eccentric lawyer, and the tallest non reinforced concrete structure in the world. It turned out to be privately owned, and we think part of someone’s house. We decided our best options for the day was for Phil to go on his bike and Linda to go for a walk from the site. Phil went on a ride in the forest which he had downloaded from the internet, you are only allowed to ride on designated forest tracks in the forest, and it is very flat, so its not the sort of place you can get an adrenaline fix! 55k in 3hrs later Phil was back at the van. Mean
while Linda went for a walk which she had plotted on the gps, starting off on lanes, but then heading into the forest, via some deep mud, and across a deep ford where she got her feet very wet! The walk was fantastic with lovely views over empty heathland and a picnic spot in the sun! Over 8 miles later and with tired legs she got back to have a brew with Phil outside the front of the van in the sun.
Today was a glorious sunny day, not a cloud in sight, so after we got up we decided we would walk into Lymington with our lunch and have a bit more of a look around. We left at around 11:30 after having given the garage a call, who said they had ordered the part and were awaiting delivery. On the way we met a farm dog, she was a young Labrador who proudly came up to us with a dead squirrel in her mouth, which she showed off to Prince and Smudge! Yuk! Once we got into Lymington we spotted a sign that pointed us in the direction of the park, it turned out to be a large patch of grass with some benches scattered around, a perfect spot for lunch. We then headed back to town and down to the harbour front where we got a pint from the Ship Inn and sat at the front watching the fishermen doing their stuff (which wasn’t very much!). We were then headed back into town when Phil got a call from the garage to say the car was ready (yippee) and it would cost £260 (boo) we had just missed the bus, so would have to wait an hour for the next one so we had a look around and found a butchers where we got some burgers and sausage for a barbeque. The bus dropped us at the site and we settled the dogs in and jumped on our bikes and pedalled the 2.5 miles to the garage. All settled up and bikes strapped on we were motoring on again! A quick stop at the garage in Hordle and we were back at the van where Phil set up the barbeque and Linda washed Tonk’s off. Burgers and sausages for tea, yum!
W
oke up early the next day, very excited as we were going over to the Isle of Wight for the day! We phoned the number for enquiries only to be told you had to book the tickets 2hrs in advance, and because of sailing times we would have to wait 3 hrs! Excitement gone we decided to use the spare time to book our next site. We found one by Bognor Regis, so booked ourselves on for 5 nights..
We then headed off to the Isle of Wight, getting to the ferry half an hour early to pick up our tickets and then off we went. The crossing took about 30mins and we left the dogs in the car, while we had a wander round the ferry and had a tea in the lounge (the sun deck was a bit cold in the wind!) We then drove to the Needles on the west of the island wh
ere we had a walk up to Tennyson’s monument (Tennyson was a poet laureate, born in 1809) which had a fantastic view of the huge white cliffs running towards the needles, so we walked along the tops of these towards the Needles. When we got there we headed for the 
Old Battery where the defences and cannons were sited in the war, but it was closed for winter! So we went round to the viewpoint instead before heading back to the car. We then drove round to Sandown with a quick stop at Hanover Point to have a look at the fantastic view. We stopped in a car park at the end of the beach, but the tide was in so there wasn’t much beach and there was a charge for parking so we carried on to Ryde where we managed to get the dogs on the beach to let off a little steam (but not for too long as the wind was bitter!). We drove through Ryde and spotted the pier which you could take your car down to 
the car park at the bottom! Tonk’s first pier wasn’t very exciting though, with nothing there but a ferry and train station. We did have a great view of Portsmouth though, with the giant Spinnaker Tower lit up by the sun. We carried on to Cowes, arriving in East Cowes and taking the chain ferry over to Cowes itself (a bit of a rickety ferry compared to the King Harry!). Cowes was very nice, even though it was getting a little dark now. Most of the centre is pedestrianised with lots of nice shops and narrow streets. We had a look around the marina and had a walk along the front which was lit with fairy lights. We decided for tea we’d have fish n chips so we got some from a nearby fish bar, but as it was too cold to eat them outside went back to Tonks and ate them there. We then headed back to Yarmouth for the ferry and while waiting in the queue (with the 2 other cars, that’s all) we saw a black tie party donning life jackets and heading down the sea wall steps to get into some dinghy’s. They had a razz around on the sea in the dark before coming back for photos! On the ferry this time we took the dogs up to the lounge with us where they promptly fell asleep!
look at Sway Tower, The folly of an eccentric lawyer, and the tallest non reinforced concrete structure in the world. It turned out to be privately owned, and we think part of someone’s house. We decided our best options for the day was for Phil to go on his bike and Linda to go for a walk from the site. Phil went on a ride in the forest which he had downloaded from the internet, you are only allowed to ride on designated forest tracks in the forest, and it is very flat, so its not the sort of place you can get an adrenaline fix! 55k in 3hrs later Phil was back at the van. Mean
while Linda went for a walk which she had plotted on the gps, starting off on lanes, but then heading into the forest, via some deep mud, and across a deep ford where she got her feet very wet! The walk was fantastic with lovely views over empty heathland and a picnic spot in the sun! Over 8 miles later and with tired legs she got back to have a brew with Phil outside the front of the van in the sun.Today was a glorious sunny day, not a cloud in sight, so after we got up we decided we would walk into Lymington with our lunch and have a bit more of a look around. We left at around 11:30 after having given the garage a call, who said they had ordered the part and were awaiting delivery. On the way we met a farm dog, she was a young Labrador who proudly came up to us with a dead squirrel in her mouth, which she showed off to Prince and Smudge! Yuk! Once we got into Lymington we spotted a sign that pointed us in the direction of the park, it turned out to be a large patch of grass with some benches scattered around, a perfect spot for lunch. We then headed back to town and down to the harbour front where we got a pint from the Ship Inn and sat at the front watching the fishermen doing their stuff (which wasn’t very much!). We were then headed back into town when Phil got a call from the garage to say the car was ready (yippee) and it would cost £260 (boo) we had just missed the bus, so would have to wait an hour for the next one so we had a look around and found a butchers where we got some burgers and sausage for a barbeque. The bus dropped us at the site and we settled the dogs in and jumped on our bikes and pedalled the 2.5 miles to the garage. All settled up and bikes strapped on we were motoring on again! A quick stop at the garage in Hordle and we were back at the van where Phil set up the barbeque and Linda washed Tonk’s off. Burgers and sausages for tea, yum!
W
oke up early the next day, very excited as we were going over to the Isle of Wight for the day! We phoned the number for enquiries only to be told you had to book the tickets 2hrs in advance, and because of sailing times we would have to wait 3 hrs! Excitement gone we decided to use the spare time to book our next site. We found one by Bognor Regis, so booked ourselves on for 5 nights..We then headed off to the Isle of Wight, getting to the ferry half an hour early to pick up our tickets and then off we went. The crossing took about 30mins and we left the dogs in the car, while we had a wander round the ferry and had a tea in the lounge (the sun deck was a bit cold in the wind!) We then drove to the Needles on the west of the island wh
ere we had a walk up to Tennyson’s monument (Tennyson was a poet laureate, born in 1809) which had a fantastic view of the huge white cliffs running towards the needles, so we walked along the tops of these towards the Needles. When we got there we headed for the 
Old Battery where the defences and cannons were sited in the war, but it was closed for winter! So we went round to the viewpoint instead before heading back to the car. We then drove round to Sandown with a quick stop at Hanover Point to have a look at the fantastic view. We stopped in a car park at the end of the beach, but the tide was in so there wasn’t much beach and there was a charge for parking so we carried on to Ryde where we managed to get the dogs on the beach to let off a little steam (but not for too long as the wind was bitter!). We drove through Ryde and spotted the pier which you could take your car down to 
the car park at the bottom! Tonk’s first pier wasn’t very exciting though, with nothing there but a ferry and train station. We did have a great view of Portsmouth though, with the giant Spinnaker Tower lit up by the sun. We carried on to Cowes, arriving in East Cowes and taking the chain ferry over to Cowes itself (a bit of a rickety ferry compared to the King Harry!). Cowes was very nice, even though it was getting a little dark now. Most of the centre is pedestrianised with lots of nice shops and narrow streets. We had a look around the marina and had a walk along the front which was lit with fairy lights. We decided for tea we’d have fish n chips so we got some from a nearby fish bar, but as it was too cold to eat them outside went back to Tonks and ate them there. We then headed back to Yarmouth for the ferry and while waiting in the queue (with the 2 other cars, that’s all) we saw a black tie party donning life jackets and heading down the sea wall steps to get into some dinghy’s. They had a razz around on the sea in the dark before coming back for photos! On the ferry this time we took the dogs up to the lounge with us where they promptly fell asleep!
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