Ruby the VW Campervan is parked up in the heart of the glorious New Forest National Park having a rest after a helluva week! She’s transported us across Norfolk for hours of lessons, to Bedford for a massive gig, into Suffolk and Norwich for smaller gigs and to school on a Friday for a series of music concerts we’ve organised. That’s just this week!

Because of our music festival in school we couldn’t get away until lunchtime on Friday and we of course got caught up on the M25 which was basically a rolling car park resulting in what should have been a 3.5 hour journey turning into 6 hours. By the time we rolled into the Caravan and Motorhome New Forest Centenary site, we were bushed.

After a quick and friendly check in we were advised to drive round and pick our spot- it would be obvious which ones were free as anyone who wasn’t parked up and on a day trip would have left a pitch marker. Behind us we’re 4 other vans chomping at the bit to check in and grab their spots, and I must admit we were rather chuffed with the pitch in Typhoon that we pulled into. It overlooked the wildlife area and was lovely and private. I left Keith to get plugged in and start setting up whilst I walked back to reception to advise them of our pitch number as requested, at which point the wardens told me this pitch wasn’t available – I rang Keith to double check the number and that there wasn’t a pitch marker or something. Nope absolutely nothing. The chap had gone out and left nothing. Feeling fractious, I told him we were going to have to move, which baring in mind he’d already got the wind break up and the chair turned, went down like a lead balloon. This mood dipped even more as we then spent 15 minutes driving round trying to find the one remaining blue peg pitch on a 200+ pitch site- the poor wardens were desperate to tell us which ones were free but those who had come in behind us had yet to tell the reception where they had parked. We of course ended up on the worse pitch of the site crammed in on the corner with a caravan less than really close to the corner of our unit. By this point we were frazzled and in a pretty bad mood. £35 a night to be crammed on a corner for 4 nights. We cracked on with our set up, and managed to hash together a fish risotto for dinner. The warden came to see if we were ok, severely apologetic- I managed to contain my mood and so did Keith, it wasn’t their fault. The warden had come to tell us that the person on our “original pitch” was only there one night so we were very welcome to move tomorrow if we wanted to. We’d sleep on it.

Saturday morning arrived and despite a very heavy sleep we were feeling a bit brighter but still a touch crotchety. This often happens when we are run down – it takes a few days to chill down. Keith suggested a walk up to our “original pitch” to make a decision about moving. We weren’t too keen – we’d set our stall out, and we weren’t sure we fancied the upheaval. As soon as we saw the old pitch vacant, it was a no brainier. We double checked at reception, chucked everything in and half an hour later we were feeling much better. Our new pitch was wonderful and our holiday could now begin.

After a lovely hearty full English breakfast using local bacon, sausage and eggs from the on site shop, and a nice chat with the warden who came to check if we were ok and to apologise again, we decided to unload the bikes and take ourselves down to the local village of Bransgore to stock up at the butchers for a bbq.

Bransgore village is nice and is home to 2 pubs, a butchers/country market/ co op and a charity shop. We brought lovely sausages, chicken kebabs, burgers and local cheese, before sampling a drink in each pub and making our way back to Ruby.

The rest of the afternoon was spent snoozing, getting sunburnt and then having a delicious meat fest of a bbq.

Project recharge was well underway.

Sunday

It wasn’t quite as intense sun this morning but we still made the most of the privacy on our pitch, by opening the tailgate around 7am and snoozing with the boot open, listening the bird song- it really was lovely.

After a bacon and egg cob, we made a pack lunch and got the bikes back out. Our route today was mainly off road, we used the minor road to get to Burley where we then picked up route 2, which happened to be a dismantled railway line; the Ringwood to Brockenhurst line. We had a pit stop at Holmsley Railway station cafe, as the name suggests the building and old platform is now turned into a licensed cafe.

We carried on on route 2 to Brockenhurst, stopping for a picnic surrounded by New Forest Ponies, before arriving in Brockenhurst.

Once in Brockenhurst, we quickly found the vineyards- it was time for another refreshment stop- we tried the local red wine which actually was very nice and smooth. The vineyards look like they are fairly young, so the red wasn’t too heavy, but tasty.

There is an impressive farm shop, garden centre and also a certified campsite here too.

Almost next door was the The Filly Inn and seeing as the rest of our route was off road, Keith talked me into a swift pint of Ringwoods Best Bitter. One for the road!

Our return journey retraced our steps back to Wooten Bridge on the old railway track, where we then took a cycle trail through Wooten Coppice Inclosure and then Holmsley Inclosure back to the site. It was a fabulous days cycling and we’re were surprised to see we’d done 20 miles! We’d really experienced some cracking New Forest views and tastes and although a little saddle sore, we’d thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Dinner was a simple roast chicken in the Remoska – simple because I’d forgotten the Yorkshire puds and gravy!

Bank Holiday Monday

After another great nights sleep, and a relaxing early morning bird watch from bed (we saw a woodpecker!) we had a simple scrambled eggs on toast for breakfast before tenderly getting on the bikes for today’s explore. We were following the Caravan and Motorhome Club site’s published route – down to the sea at Mudeford Quay. The route was mainly following route 2 and other than a short off road section at Christchurch, mainly followed small and very quiet lanes – we actually saw more cyclists than cars.

Mudeford Quay is a small, quaint and traditional seaside resort. There is a nice stretch of beach and a traditional fishmongers selling fresh fish and shellfish straight from the fishermen. A cosy inn with sea view beer garden and a cafe and small shop, alongside loads of fisherman equipment such as lobster pots etc. It’s very clearly a working Quay and we loved it. Keith immediately likened it to Amity Island in Jaws.

All along the promenade were families dangling crab lines and buckets, and not an amusement arcade in sight.

It was heaving – unsurprising considering it was bank holiday and not raining! Also the first ever Mudeford Quay Seafood Festival (free) was taking place.

On the way we’d been discussing whether to try for a fish bbq tonight- the final decision would be made if we could find some local fresh fish. As soon as we arrived we saw The Fish Stall – our dinner decision was made!

Over a pint we discussed what to buy – everything looked amaaaaazing, but we decided on Swordfish, tuna steaks and smoked haddock along with a portion of samphire. The fishmonger wrapped it in tons of ice, and we went for a wander around the seafood festival which may as well have been called “ Heaven”.

Numerous local seafood wagons lined the park, selling all sorts of tempting offerings such as squid, tuna wraps, whitebait, fish and chips, grilled prawns. Oh I could have had a portion of everything. They were interspersed with local drinks stalls – local lager, local Hampshire English fizz, ale, gin, vodka…. We were both in heaven.

We settled on a portion of salt and pepper squid which was splendid washed down with a local lager (I’ve forgotten the name!) and Hampshire English fizz for me. We also picked up some Cornish smoked Brie and a bottle of local Beachcomber gin. Yum.

I could have stayed there all day, but we had a 7.5 mile bike ride to get back and also a rucksack full of fresh fish. We also needed to stop at Sainsbury’s for a few bits before it shut at 4pm

We sadly waved goodbye to Mudeford Quay, thrilled that we’d stumbled upon this place all thanks to the Caravan and Motorhome club.

Keith managed remarkable well with the heaviest rucksack we’ve ever had. All that fish, a bottle of gin, a bottle of wine, a bottle of tonic, rice, cereal – I could barely lift the rucksack, let alone carry it for 7.5 miles! Jazz helped with sharing his bike basket but he wasn’t too amused!

When we arrived back at Ruby we had gained new neighbours. Unfortunately they’d not read the “camping etiquette” handbook and set their kids swing all literally 4 foot from our van. We discovered that the sound of a swingball game goes down as rather an annoying one when you’re trying to relax and listen to the birds. Nice of them to realise this and put it at the furthest point from their van/ closest to ours.

Despite this we enjoyed a phenomenal fish bbq, washed down with the local gin and a crisp bottle of white, and even when their kids decided to use the back of our pitch as a bike cut through, we could tell we were relaxing as after a discreet “please don’t do that” we were still rather chilled and happy.

Tuesday

Our four nights in the New Forest have come to an end- it was time to move onwards into the depths of Dorset.

We decided to leave the bed assembled and packed away everything on top. Before leaving the new forest I drove us up to the Rufus Stone; the site where King William II received a fatal wound in an hunting accident. Some theories suggest that it wasn’t an accident instead Sir William Tyrell murdered him in a disguised attach. Either way we will never know the truth but the stone is set in a rather picturesque area of the New Forest.

The weather was ok so we decided to have one last adventure before crossing the border into Dorset. We drove to nearby Fritham, to do a 4.5 mile walk which took in some lovely heathland scenery along with a fabulous stretch of forest.

We stopped for lunch on the site of a royal hunting lodge before looping back round and returning to Ruby.

We had a swift half in the 17th century charming thatched Royal Oak before heading off on our merry way to Dorset.

We’d thoroughly enjoyed our time at the C&MC Centenary club site despite it being a bit busy for our liking, and we’re looking forward to part 2 in Corfe Castle.

Until next time

Lx