23 October 2018 (Tuesday) - Exbury Gardens and Calshot Beach


Last night just before bed I’d had an email from one of the people who looks after the series of geocaches we hunted out on Sunday. I’d thought that being a series it would have only one person looking after it. It turns out that it is owned in sections. When I whinged that the C.O. hadn’t replied to emails, I’d only tried to contact one person.
Oh well… perhaps the route might get a quick once-over now? Ideally it needs taking in and replacing with a whole new series (if only to give us another reason to come back here for another holiday).

There are cattle grids all over the New Forest to keep the horses, cows, pigs and ponies from running riot (too much). There is one just outside our cottage, and it made quite a noise when a lorry drove over it just before seven o’clock. Mind you it wasn’t as much of a noise as Fudge made in response, and nowhere near as much as "er indoors TM" as she lambasted Fudge about the error of his ways.

After a bit of brekkie we set off to a local beauty spot. We had minor delays from horses blocking the roads (they do that a *lot* down here) and a five-minute diversion for geo-reasons we were soon at Exbury Gardens. We started off on a Halloween-themed steam train with ghostly guides “Boney and Batty”; a camp skeleton and an equally camp vampire. They charged around and amused the punters, and as we tootled through the gardens we saw all sorts of ghosties and even a ghoulie or two. With the leaves changing colour for autumn it was a rather beautiful place to be. The dogs had to be on leads which was probably for the best; we saw several squirrels which mocked them.
After a coffee and sandwich we went to feed the carp. One lake which usually was heaving with fish was devoid of them. We wondered where they’d gone as we walked to another lake which had several carp for Fudge to attempt to terrorise. I even got one to nibble on my hand.

Pausing only to fail to find a Church Micro we took a rather pretty drive down to Calshot beach where we walked along the beach and out to the spit to look at the castle. It was closed. But we had a good walk along the beach. Both dogs chased stones into the sea; Fudge chased seagulls.

Back to base; I hosed the sand from the dogs. There was a *lot* of sand to hose. And then we had a short drive to the Turfcutter’s Arms; a rather good pub. Ringwood best, poppy ale, forty-niner, rather good scampi and chips, strawberry mess, even a Drambuie or two.
And then the evening was rounded off with a pint of \king \goblin (6.7%!), a glass of port, a wedge of stilton, a couple of rounds of “Blokus” and a few hands of “Cheat”; a game at which I am not very good on account of the fact that I cheat so much.

We staggered off to bed just before one o’clock. I took quite a few photos today.

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