South to the Coast

Departing London this morning, we began our journey to England's South Coast. Our first stop was Winchester, a small historic city that was once the capital of King Alfred the Great. Walking through the medieval streets, we first visited an original city ate, then the last remaining part of the city's castle. This is now home to a large wooden disk that is allegedly the original King Arthur's Round Table! Next we visited Winchester Cathedral, which is home to many interesting features, including a flooded basement & Jane Austin's grave. There was free time afterwards for lunch & to explore a little. During the afternoon we took a scenic drive through the "New Forest", a former Royal hunting preserve that was new when it was founded in in the 11th Century! We saw some of the famous wild ponies & free-grazing cattle before we stopped in the little village of Burley. Our final stop of the day was on the coast itself. At Hengistbury Head we alighted the bus to board a "Noddy Train", a miniature land train that connects the end of the road with an isolated snadbank lined with tiny beach huts. Unfortunately the wind was blowing a minor gale, but many of our group braved the conditions to dip their toes in the Englsh Channel! Then we all took shelter in the local Beach House Cafe where we enjoyed a great dinner of Glazed Goats Cheese, Fish & Chips, & a selection of delicious desserts! To return to our bus we rode a ferry across the narrow gap to the mainland, a memorable ride & thankfully a lot smoother than we expected considering the force of the wind!