Walk 66. Beaulieu to Lymington

 So I’m back in Beaulieu on a lovely sunny day that’s not quite as hot as it has been recently! The village is full of donkeys…

From the bridge the path turns left beside the pub…

Once past a few houses the path follows, I believe, the route of an old narrow-gauge railway. Hence the straightness!

About three-quarters of a mile from Beaulieu I pass Bailey’s Hard - the reason for the railway!

The path continues through woodland, although there are occasional glimpses of the river, all the way to Bucklers Hard.

Bucklers Hard is a preserved historic shipbuilding site that today is a popular tourist attraction. 

The main ‘street’…

Some sort of archaeological dig…

The ‘Duke’s bath house’…

After a brief look round I continue on my way. From here access to the coast is, once again, very limited, so I head off down the road…

Twenty minutes later I pass St Leonards Barn that dates back to the medieval period, and is reputed to be the largest barn in England!

Along this road I get some nice views across the Solent to the Isle of Wight…

So I plod on along the road. Fortunately there is very little traffic but it does get a bit ‘samey’ after a while! And this is the rest of this walk! After a few miles there is a short cut through some woods but then it is back on the roads all the way to Lymington.

Two and a quarter hours after leaving Bucklers Hard I arrive in Lymington. Passing the car ferry to the Isle of Wight…

…I walk up to the bridge over the Lymington River where I am finishing for today. Hopefully the next section of this coastal walk should be a bit more ‘coastal’!

Walk 65. Lepe to Beaulieu

 Today’s walk starts at Lepe Country Park, where it is a lot sunnier and hotter than last time!

I’m heading this way, toward the Beaulieu River…

So I set off and after a few minutes pass this rather exposed looking house! Called the Watch House, it is now used as a holiday let.

The beach is quite narrow along here, but it’s another hour and a half before high tide so I should be all right!

Helpful warning sign - it’ll be fine!

Starting to look a bit dodgy…

Fortunately the log palisade is only a couple of hundred yards long, and the beach opens up again once I get past it. My boots get a bit wet but my feet stay dry!

Just a few minutes later I come to the end of the beach. This is where the Beaulieu River flows into the sea  and the coast becomes impassable mudflats and salt marsh. Like much of the New Forest coastline, it seems, this is also private land with no public access.

To cross the river I have to walk upstream to the village of Beaulieu itself, where the nearest bridge is located. Sadly, because of the private land thing, there is no pleasant riverside walk available so I have to take the road.

Luckily there is not much traffic!

After about half an hour I reach the village of Exbury, where there is a very picturesque church…

…and Exbury Gardens visitor attraction…

Nearly a mile and a half past Exbury Gardens I walk over a cattle grid. The grid is there to control possibly the most famous thing about the New Forest - yep, ponies!

Everybody go aahhhh…

Just another mile down a busier road later I arrive in Beaulieu. This is famous for being the location of the National Motor Museum which houses a very interesting collection of vehicles. I can’t see it from anywhere along my route, but there is a definite increase in the number of classic cars passing me by!

My finish point today is the bridge over the river - and a very lovely spot it is too…

Walk 64. Fawley to Lepe

 Today’s walk starts in a damp Fawley…

I head down the road to Ashlett…

Ashlett is just a short ten minute walk, and seems to consist of a marina, a pub, and an impressive old tide mill…

There is a footpath sign here showing two different routes - one high tide, one low tide. As I am checking the tide times on my phone, a local old seadog tells me the low tide route is only impassable about once every five years! Local government arse-covering knows no limits!

So I take the low tide route past the mudflats…

A few minutes later I come to the site of the now-disused Fawley power station. Part of it has been demolished, but some buildings remain and appear to be still used in some sort of industrial capacity.

The path passes this lot on the seaward side and includes a high-security bridge…

Once past the old power station site, I have a short walk beside some more mudflats before arriving at the beach at Calshot…

Although the way ahead lies to the right, I want to explore Calshot Spit first so I turn left. 

The spit is closely connected with the early days of aviation. It was a flying boat base for many years and was also the venue for the Schneider Trophy air races in the 1920s and 30s. Today, three of the old hangers still survive - one of which is now an activity centre.

Also perched on the end of the spit is a lifeboat station and coastguard lookout tower…

…and Calshot Castle - yet another coastal defence fort built by Henry VIII. Busy boy, old Henry…

I walk back down the spit and head onto the beach toward the village of Calshot, past about a million brightly coloured beach huts…!

Now, at this point I could continue along the beach for a way. But research suggests that a chunk of the beach ahead is private and blocked by a very effective fence. As all of the coastal land is also private with no public access, the only option is the road!

So I turn away from the coast (on my coastal walk) and head up the hill into Calshot village…

In the village there is a footpath through a wood that ‘cuts a corner’ of the road walk, but a few hundred yards later I am back on the road. It looks like this…

And it continues to look like that for nearly two-and-a-half miles!

Eventually I arrive at the beach at Lepe Country Park, just in time to be caught in a sudden downpour! Fortunately this is my finish point for today so I can now go and find some shelter!