The New Forest and BP

The base for the third week of the Rowlinson itinerary was the New Forest. Black Knowle had only reopened the week previous and the facilities and sites were “top draw” thanks in large part to taking note of user feedback (their claim). We had a large grass site – all set up to relax with the washing done.

Lianne was keen to catch up with old friends from her “gap year”. This resulted in a trip to Bideford and great lunch with Bernard and Angela. The garden salad was just that – and very tasty as a result.

After a short drive we then visited friends Helen and Garth. Here are the kids "burning up energy" on a swing to make room for a delicious barbecue with local hamburgers and sausages.

I have to say it was wonderful of both our hosts to put on such fare for our large “fly in – fly out” group. I suspect the subsequent calm after our departure was much appreciated.

The main draw card for staying in the New Forest was a visit to Brownsea island. Site of the first camp run by Baden Powell. Lianne ensured uniforms had been packed. A lovely half hour boat ride to the island, a quick pose at the quay and then we were off to explore.

This is the commemoration stone of the camp.

And the flag pole.

But the most fun was had at the shop which was “personned” by two wonderfully helpful and talkative scout leaders. There was so much to see and the kids came away with quite a few badges for their blankets. I had not realised that over the 110 years (1907) that scouts have been around there have only been 10 UK Chief Scouts with Bear Grylls having been aboard since 2009. Tieve took particular pride in donating her scarf to the collection and making a note of the our visit in the visitors book.

It was the tranquility of the island that appealed to me. The glimpses of sea through the woodland were very calming.

Daelin and I also enjoyed the vibrant heather.

So from the natural to the super natural you only get one guess as to our next visit. All were eager to get in the car for this ride to North London!

I have to say this is the largest and most interesting display I think I have ever seen. It is vast and we spent over 5 hours wondering round. Each of the scenes were designed free hand (not even CAD was used) and then a card model made. This, of Dumbledore’s office is surprisingly detailed.

But the castle soon put into perspective how detailed a card model can be.

In turn the card model was (in the case of the castle) made into a huge model that covered an area at least 20m by 20m. But the attention to detail remained, even the roof tiles had rough edges. The model was used to fly through the building and with green backdrops could have snow and many other computer generated enhancements. The changes in software and other ideas that were developed over the 10 years the 8 movies were made was staggering.

There were some stage sets that remained little changed throughout the 10 years. The main dining room was a good example. It looked like a real castle hall until you went round the back of the walls to see scaffolding and fibreglass.

The above is just a snippet of the tour. Animal training was a whole team and included four owls – one for carrying letters, one for sitting in a cage, another for sitting on an arm. How they made a Giant and then all the special effects. Suffice to say I am motivated to now watch the movies and encourage all who are near North London to spend a half day doing the tour. I can guarantee you will not be disappointed. (I also do not have any shares in Warner Bros!)

As we were in the New Forest a walk was essential. Seren took Tieve and Lianne to the hospital to get her plaster split and tied in time for the flight. So the rest of us went on a deer hunt. (Helen and I had seen one earlier in the week.) This really motivated Daelin and we had snacks that he had packed at half way (cold chips from the previous night!!)

We got close to the ponies and picked Blackberries which Daelin really thought was adventurous.

We also went close to the edge of the woods for much of the journey being very quiet. However, we did not see a deer and at the end a rather disappointed Daelin declared that “a deer hunt without any deer was just a walk….”

As this was the day prior to departure we suggested that maybe a fish and (hot) chip supper might help to make amends and this clearly had appeal all round.

The following day the Rowlinsons were off back to Oz and Helen and I were looking forward to a short break on our own in Cornwall.