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…
