A few muddy walks in the rain fail to dampen Susan Taylor’s enthusiasm for coastal Hampshire
PERHAPS CHOOSING to spend a few days touring near the coast, straight after one of the wettest Februarys for almost 200 years, wasn’t the best idea, but we reasoned that we are used to wet weather and we have all the necessary outdoor gear.
We weren’t going to let the rain put us off – we would carry on with our plans!
We had booked to stay at Hurst View Leisure in Pennington, between Lymington and the Keyhaven Marshes Nature Reserve, perfect for some waterside walking.
The hardstandings were a bit waterlogged (at least we weren’t silly enough to try to pitch on grass), but once we’d negotiated the mud outside the van door, we would be perfectly warm and dry inside.
It turned out that leaving the van was when the trouble started!
Worth the walk
Arriving in the late afternoon, with the rain having (temporarily) stopped, we decided to tackle the short walk to the nearby pub for dinner. Donning walking boots and waterproofs – even dog Willow was kitted out in her raincoat – we set off down a quiet road to the footpath. The very waterlogged footpath, churned up by all the hardy souls who had ventured this way before us.
No amount of waterproof gear could save us from the mud, which was ankle-deep in places. But we were determined to carry on. Fifteen minutes later, we were settled comfortably at a table by the fire in the welcoming 16th-century Chequers Inn, New Forest ale in hand, perusing the menu. Fish pie and whole plaice from the specials board really hit the spot, and the mud was forgotten – for a while, at least.
Adding a fresh layer to what was already caked on shoes, trousers and paws during the walk back, it was impossible to keep the van mud-free, especially when Willow had a good shake and deposited her share liberally around the kitchen.
And I thought I’d done so well to lay old towels on the floor before we left! But soon cleaned up and dried, we could laugh it off and enjoy our evening cosied up with our books, and then an early night.
Sunshine after the rain
But in the middle of the night, the rain returned with a vengeance. It hammered on our roof and we rocked around in the wind blowing off the nearby Solent. I wondered briefly if we would float away on the tide and, more seriously, whether we should think about retreating home.
But amazingly, when we roused ourselves next morni
