England – New Forest
Beautiful Dale Farm House in Dibden. Charming B&B with the most wonderful breakfasts.
We hadn’t planned a trip to England at all, but my mother was taken ill at the beginning of April and I went across to be with her. Unfortunately my mum died a week later but I was able to spend a lot of time with her beforehand. Tom flew over later to be with me and we had a few days break before the funeral. After picking Tom up from Heathrow Airport, we took the scenic trip back to Taunton in the south west by driving through the New Forest.
(Click on the images for larger versions)
This is an area of approximately 145 square miles which I have been to many times but Tom had only skirted the perimeter. From the M27 we took the Cadnam road to Lyndhurst. Now I’m sure Lyndhurst is a lovely place but it took an awful long time to drive through it. Every road leading to it had a back up of traffic and it is like this every single time I have driven through it. It is a town which desperately needs a bypass. It took us long enough in April, but during the summer months it is even more of a nightmare.
Once through Lyndhurst, the journey became enjoyable and we could take pleasure in the countryside. In 1079 William The Conqueror named the area his ‘Nova Foresta’ or new hunting forest. Now, nearly 1000 years later, most of the forest has disappeared, mainly due to the navy taking the the timber to build their ships in the late Middle Ages. Today the area is a mix of woodland and heathland. The locals, or Commoners, are allowed to graze horses and cattle in the New Forest and these animals roam freely. The animals are prevented from straying too far by cattle grids. As you drive through the forest, you will see many ponies and they have the right of way. The speed limited is 40 mph on unfenced roads and it is necessary. We rounded a bend and came up behind two cows, which ambled along the road in front of us for about 200 yards before deciding to head towards a pond.
Our first stop though was in Lymington. This is a small town not far from the coast. We needed to book some accommodation and we have always found that the Tourist Information Office is the best place to do this. We parked the car near the center of the town and walked to the main shopping street. As we didn’t know exactly where the Tourist Office was, we stopped for a cup of coffee at an independent coffee shop and asked for directions. At the Tourist Office, a very helpful lady gave us a brochure to browse through. We prefer farmhouse bed and breakfast to hotels and there were several to choose from. As we were next visiting Beaulieu, we picked a place nearby. The lady telephoned and we were fixed up, leaving with a map of where the accommodation was and a phone number.
On to Beaulieu where the world famous Motor Museum is situated. Beaulieu is a very nice little village where some of the houses – those with
Motor Museum at Beaulieu
red painted front doors – are owned by the Beaulieu Estate. Beaulieu Estate, which comprises not only the National Motor Museum but Beaulieu Abbey and Beaulieu Palace House, has been owned by the Montagu family since the dissolution of the monasteries in the sixteenth century. Our intention was to visit all three buildings but ended up spending all our time in the Motor Museum. What a fascinating place. Lots of vintage, classic cars and racing cars plus land speed record holders. There are over 250 exhibits. I particularly liked the one of a kind cars like Del Boys (Only Fools and Horses) three wheeler and Mr. Bean’s mini.
We left Beaulieu to drive towards Hythe, which is on the Southampton Water, and set out to find where we were booked for the night -Dale Farm House in Dibden. We had the instructions on how to get there but somehow got lost and ended up going up and down the same stretch of road and around the several roundabouts before we pulled off the road and rang the our host. Fortunately we weren’t too far away, we just hadn’t negotiated the right roundabout. Soon we were bumping down a unmade up road until we found Dale Farm. The setting was perfect.
We were greeted warmly by Christine Archdeacon, given a key to our room – which was at the top of the stairs (mind your head!). What a lovely room with an compact but impressive ensuite bathroom. The view from the window was outstanding. After lugging our suitcases upstairs and washing our hands we took a walk round the garden, meet the ducks, watched a couple of pheasants and admired the surroundings.
Time to get something to eat. Christine recommended some good restaurants nearby and we chose the nearest one which was the Pilgrim Inn at Marchwood. Right next door is a restaurant but it wasn’t open. Both buildings are under the same ownership and have recently been refurbished with brand new thatched roofs. Inside the pub there was another warm welcome. We could pick our own table and browsed through the mouthwatering menu. Our server was very friendly and we had a long conversation with her about photography. We both chose something from the specials on the blackboard – Tom had calves liver – now this was a bold step for him as he hasn’t liver since he was a child and he didn’t like it then – and my choice was a chicken dish. Before the meal Tom enjoyed his first pint of British beer this trip while I had a St Clements. The food was fantastic.
After a very comfortable night’s sleep, we were ready for our farmhouse breakfast at Dale Farm. Our host, Peter – complete with chefs jacket and harlequin trouers – greeted us as we walked into the restaurant and we had a simply wonderful breakfast. We filled up with cereal, a very colorful fresh fruit salad, yoghurt, fruit juice, the tastiest English cooked breakfast with local produce I’ve ever had, toast, home made marmalade and all washed down with several cups of tea. Peter spent a long time in conversation with us as until the other guests arrived and soon the room became full. Peter and Christine have spent several holidays in California and we told them to look us up if they come again. If you ever check this website out Peter and Christine, we looking forward to meeting up with you again.
May 11 2009 | Further Afield | 1 Comment »
