THE ENGLISH WAY

What a wonderful weekend to share! Lee and I hired a car to go camping in the New Forest National Park this weekend. Home of hundreds of (pregnant) wild horses, cows, deer, small villages, and great bike and walking paths. So Friday afternoon Lee and I packed the car with our tent, sleeping bags, chairs, food for a few days and packs with hiking gear (frustrating for me a bit since all my hiking gear stills sits in my parents basement closet). Two and a bit hours after leaving the house and hitting some traffic we came to the New Forest and found our camp ground for the weekend....ah, but it wouldn't be a good story without a twist here! SOOO .. the one which we were recommended to stay at required each camping group to have their own chemical toilet. Right. So off we went to find a store that bought one (thinking we'd buy one to have with no intentions of using it, return it on the way out or sell it on ebay later maybe for a profit!) Well, of course by this time the stores have shut in the villages, and the camp grounds are starting to fill up quickly (it's school vacation week and there were plenty of campers!) FINALLY after driving around and talking with 3 or so camp grounds, we were told to go to Pondhead Farm. Yep, a farm. A real one too! On the way in there was a very large cow to great us (the same cow who's moo's were very stern and territorial). With no showers and lots of brown patches on the ground to be weary about, we set up camp for two nights. Our final camp site :: Pondhead Farm. Night #1. Rain. Guess what... I dont have ANY rain gear. flip flops; that's about it. BUT, with no lamps or big flashlights (aka torches) when the sun goes down, so do we. With every intention on getting up with the sun and starting our day early to hike several miles of the New Forest we slept as bundled as we could - it was very cold this night #1. SO. Saturday morning comes and goes. The rooster crows and the angry cow moo's her head off. 9:30am I think we finally got our butts into gear. Following paths thru trees and wooded areas, thru open fields and rolling hills we hiked about 14 miles when the day was finished. Here are some choice photos... WILD COWS WILD HORSES The super bright caterpillar we made sure crossed the road without getting hit (there were 3 cars that came REALLY close) Super cool pathway The old lady walking her dog. Almost everyone we passed had a dog or two with them. WELL .. it doesnt get more English than Tea and scones, right? Here they call it cream tea. That would be tea. scones. clotted cream (to put on the scones) and jam. Very filling. Very tasty - coming from a coffee person..oh, and I highly dislike jam. eww. Night #2. Too tired to stay awake to enjoy the beautiful non-rain weather! We watched the sun go over the farm hill we were staying on and with the daylight gone, so were we. 8:30pm I think!? Mom you would be so proud. All rested and smelling lovely, we decided to head to the coast to Milford on Sea (aka Gods waiting room) for a run and a dip in the ocean. How people swim in water this cold in beyond me, yet there were plenty of swimmers...I got knee deep-ish and dipped my head. Since the weather was gorgeous we stayed the day on the rocky beaches getting some sun and walking the cliff paths. Typical beach houses to rent for your day at the beach. All showered and back to city life, I'm missing that mean old cow...

No Response to "THE ENGLISH WAY"

Post a Comment