The New Forest

No points for guessing the location of our next site. We stayed for an overnight stop at Black Knowl last year en route to Spain. This was such a great location we decided to make it the base for the next week.

Our first trip was to Glyndebourne to see the opera Rinaldo. No pictures allowed but the production was imaginative with the Roman scenes converted to modern day school rooms/cycle sheds and the final battle reconstituted as a football match. The singing and music were also pretty good nicely broken into three scenes to enable participation in drinks and a 3 course dinner.

A visit to Lyndhurst was required for a bit of shopping but more importantly to visit the grave of Alice in Wonderland (well Hargreaves actually). 

Our next trip to Lyme Regis via West Bay. Here we climbed Everest (well East cliff) and quickly sat down for some lunch and recovery.

Further along the cliff top was the beach where the BBC series Broadchurch was filmed. What was missing from the film was a rather interesting par 3 hole...

Our scientists focus was the Jurassic cliffs. These 200M year old cliffs incorporate many fossils particularly Ammonites. The town flaunts its good fortune.

 

The French Lieutenants Woman was filmed here as this re-enactment depicts (apparently!)

Back to the fossils (let’s have no suggestion that we hadn’t left them). The cliffs west of the town are largely silt stone and as erosion occurs (and during early 2014 there were substantial slips) many fossils are exposed. The importance of the area first became apparent when Mary Anning (1799 – 1847) who, without any special schooling, noticed the various fossils, their differences and hypothesised about evolution. A quite brilliant scientist which unfortunately others took advantage of by taking her collection and on selling it for a tidy income.

Here is an Ammonite crèche.

After two days of 2 hour driving each way it was time for a lazy day with a slow trip around various New Forest tracks and afternoon tea at Rhinefeld House.

Brilliantly sunny weather but a bit too cool for a dip.

Next was an overnight trip to the Isle of Wight. We crossed on the Lymington – Yarmouth ferry. The Needles could be seen in the distance and looked to be almost joined to the main land fort.

 

We walked up the half hour track to the view point where as well as the Needles there is a good view of the lighthouse. This 1859 structure stands just over 33 metres (24 above sea level) and was manned by 3 people working 2 months on and 1 month off. The Helipad arrived in 1987 and in 1994 the light was automated with only occasional cleaning visits now required. 

The area was heavily fortified (starting in 1867) to protect the Solent duiring several wars. Despite this investment over the years none of the guns was ever fired in anger.

What was fired from the batteries was the static testing of the Black Arrow rockets. After these very secret tests actual launches occurred from Woomera in outback Australia. The first satellite to be launched was Prospero which is still orbiting today and sending weak signals.

How long the Batteries remain (and in fact the Needles) is moot.

 

As we travelled along the island’s Southern coast the there were some spectacular views.

We overnighted at a B&B and after a hearty breakfast were up for a tour of Queen Victoria’s residence Osborne House (built between 1845 and 1851). It is an interesting house with great gardens and a view down to the Solent.

No pictures were allowed inside but pictures from within looking outside were OK…

 

There was also a large walled garden with a huge variety of vegetables. What was less impressive was the pigsty which failed to produce any manure.  

We returned to the ‘van and prepared for an early (5:30 start) to enable us to catch the Poole-Cherbourg ferry. The Old Harry Rocks signalled the end of our England tripping as we moved “Sur Le Continent”.