Day 177 – Lymington to Highcliffe: 16.1m: 5.5h

Good news for Mike. Burnley’s second goal was disallowed (an apparently contentious VAR hand ball decision) and the game ended 1-1. Not such good news for John and Helen. They have had hardly any kip due to a combination of noise from the street, a rattling window in the strengthening wind, and somebody upstairs who spent more time walking around his/her room than sleeping. The keyboard equivalent of pencils being sharpened for a review of the hotel is already under way.

The early travel and breakfast admin has involved John leaving the A&BP at 6:15 to drive his and Helen’s car to Mark and Natalie’s house near Barton on Sea for collection by Helen on our route later this morning. Natalie then drives John and Mark back to Lymington High Street to rendezvous with Helen, Mike and Gary at 7 o’clock for bacon sarnies and cups of tea/coffee in Gregg’s. We leave there just after 7:15, meet Ben who has decided to give the Gregg’s offering a swerve, and wander back down the High Street to the King’s Head. The strong winds which were predicted have materialised and, not surprisingly, become stronger as we walk down the west bank of the Lymington River towards the coast by the marina. Here we turn west to follow the path towards Keyhaven. For the most part, the wind is now in our faces, but the meandering nature of the path affords occasional relief. Also, the underfoot conditions are good, and the rain which had been forecast hasn’t appeared. So…could be worse!

Our plan is to get to Keyhaven for the first ferry of the day (at 10 o’clock) to Hurst Castle, walk along the beach/shingle and then back along the spit connecting the castle to the mainland at Milford on Sea. But despite the wind, we make good progress and arrive in Keyhaven around 9:15. We’re told by a couple of locals that the ferry will almost certainly be running but, rather than waiting 45 minutes, we walk the short distance to Milford. John, Ben, Mike and Mark say that they will go to the castle via the spit and come back the same way. Gary treats this out and back route as the well-established pier/jetty exemption, and decides to repair with Helen for cups of coffee in the Lighthouse bar/café instead. In fact, the return of the intrepid foursome is effected by ferry and they arrive at the Lighthouse around 10:45.

The weather is now pretty wild. The wind could well be blowing at 50 mph, and waves/spume are coming over the sea wall. Fortunately, no rain is falling, although it is in the air. We continue westward towards Barton on Sea, with Helen leaving us just before Barton Golf Course to meet Natalie and collect the car. It’s not certain that, once we’ve passed through Barton, we’ll be able to stay on the coast all the way to Highcliffe. This depends on whether we can walk through a holiday park and, when we reach it, a high fence and a combination keypad on the gate provide the answer. We have to walk north to the main A337, west past the Chewton Glen Hotel, then back south alongside Walkford Brook, through woodland and the Chewton Bunny Nature Reserve, to regain the coast to the east of Highcliffe. A bit irritating, but it does provide 30 minutes’ relief from the coastal wind – and still, remarkably, no rain. And when we do get back to the coast, we are able to spend the final stages of today’s walk with a bit of beach action.

Just before 1:30, we reach a set of steps leading up to a car park at Highcliffe Castle where we’ve arranged to meet Helen and Natalie in their respective cars. We only have to wait 5 minutes for their arrival and we say goodbye to Natalie and Mark. The train which Ben, Mike and Gary are catching from Hinton Admiral doesn’t leave for another 90 minutes, so they are dropped off by John and Helen at the conveniently located Cat and Fiddle pub. Plenty of time for a couple of relaxed pints before a 10 minute walk to the station. The train leaves on time, Ben and Gary disembark at New Milton to catch the service to Clapham Junction, and Mike continues to Southampton for his connection to Reading and from there to Taplow.                                  

Day 176 – Exbury to Lymington: 14.2m: 5.0h

John and Helen drove to Hampshire yesterday to meet with some friends, Mark and Natalie, and checked in last night at our overnight accommodation in Lymington, the Angel and Blue Pig. Mike has travelled from Taplow and meets Ben and Gary at Southampton Airport Parkway. They take a taxi to Exbury where John and Helen are waiting at the church along with Mark who is joining us for the next couple of days.

It soon becomes apparent that John and Helen aren’t too impressed with the A&BP. Having already paid for one night of their stay when they checked in, they were only informed when they came down from their room this morning for a leisurely breakfast that the kitchen had been closed so nothing was available. This will change our plans for supper this evening but, because of a scheduled early start, not for breakfast tomorrow. Also, the weather forecast for the next couple of days is not particularly promising – rain likely throughout today, and rain accompanied by very strong (40 to 50 mph) head winds tomorrow. Ben, Mike and Gary encountered pretty heavy rain on their way to Exbury in the taxi but, as we set off from the church just before 11 o’clock, it seems to have cleared and, indeed, holds off for the rest of the day.

For the first hour, we walk north alongside a minor road running parallel with, but some distance away from, the Beaulieu River. We then enter Beaulieu itself before turning back towards the coast. The route south does afford some glimpses of the river, particularly at Bucklers Hard, the site of a shipyard in the 18^th and 19^th centuries and where Sir Francis Chichester began and ended his solo voyage around the world in Gipsy Moth IV. Today it is the site of a yachting marina and of the Master Builder’s House, a hotel and bar where we make a brief stop for a glass of refreshment. For some, this is a pint of organic (i.e. cloudy) beer which tastes far nicer than it looks!

On leaving Bucklers Hard, we again move away from the river and then follow the Solent Way westwards. Despite its name, this does not run by the sea shore, but anything up to a mile inland along narrow lanes and wooded paths, past Pylewell Park Cricket Club, and eventually to the east bank of the Lymington River. We walk north past the ferry terminal and then cross the bridge over the river and into the town. Today’s walk ends shortly before 4:30 by the King’s Head Inn at the end of the High Street. During the course of the afternoon, John booked a table there for supper this evening, but we decide not to take a sneak preview of the drinks on offer and instead walk up the High Street to the A&BP. John and Helen were assured this morning that the bar would be open on our arrival this afternoon. However, given their no breakfast experience, it comes as no great surprise to find the front door firmly shut with a sign saying that the bar will open at 5 o’clock. We continue along the High Street to the local Wetherspoon’s, The Six Bells, where the customarily cheap drinks are available, but not the side shows which we witnessed during our previous Wetherspoon’s experience in Chichester.

Mark returns home, and the rest of us return to the A&BP. Standing by the check-in counter is a man whose view of the establishment is clearly no more favourable than that of John and Helen. He’s been waiting, apparently for some time, to speak to the Manager. When told that the Manager will be a few more minutes, his reaction is to go to his room with a comment to the effect that, when the Manager appears, he can do the waiting. At least when we get to our rooms, the immediate requirement of hot and efficient showers is met.

The food at the King’s Head is good, and sufficiently substantial for us to have nothing more than a main course, accompanied by two bottles of white and one of red. On our return to the A&BP, Ben goes straight to his room and the other four go straight to the bar where no issues arise. It is open, the service is friendly, the double stickies (two each) are reasonably priced, and John is allowed to have a few raspberries from the bowl (cocktail bowl?) on the bar. Just before we leave, Gary feels it necessary to inform Mike that Burnley have just scored to go 2-1 up at Nottingham Forest.