To avoid the bank holiday crowds on the new forest we opted for a stroll along
Calshot spit and beach. We arrived and had no trouble parking in the beach car
park. However ti did man we had to buy a ticket (£4 for 4 hours).
The beach side was full, however there was a large area beyond (before the
activities centre barrier) which was very sparsely filled. We parked up and set
off down the road in a sudden downpour. The weather had shortened any plans and
I was settling for a simple stroll to the end and back along the beach.
As we passed the main hanger there were lots of people with lots of noise -
presumably keeping out of the weather.
At the castle - English Heritage - We went around as the membership allowed us
to do so, however Bertie was not permitted so we took it in turns, first Sue
then myself, whilst the other looked after Bertie and wandered around the end
of the spit.
Then back along the beach - the rain had stopped for a while now and we were
drying out. Various hardy souls were swimming and paddleboarding in the sea as
we kept off the shingle and stayed on the strip of more sandier composition.
Over towards the Isle of Wight we could make out one of the towers, as the
ferries and sail boats crossed over to Cowes. The view was suddenly covered in rain mist as another shower crossed over.
We turned around at the start of the spit and headed bac t the van. Looking back the RNLI tower stands out at teh very end of the spit.
Dry once again we hurried back to the van before the next shower crossed over - this one had thunder in it. A short stop for some lunch then headed back to Karen's for dinner.
