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.
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