New Forest

The day started around seven. We both slept well, though in Di’s case, chemicals were involved. Though we are off for a few days’ break, there was no hurry to get going. We had a very leisurely breakfast and then pottered around until Lottie arrived. We were then distracted by the latest disasters and tales from her family.

I had charged the car to 100% overnight. This was the first time I had successfully done this. When I unplugged the charger, it estimated that I had a range of 368 miles. When, however, we set out some time later, the estimated range had increased to 406 miles. There’s no way the car would achieve that, but I admire its optimism.

I finally loaded the car, and we set off at about 11:00. It was not a smooth journey! After 35 minutes, we were still on the Chichester bypass, less than 6 miles from home. Further on, we hit the traffic filtering off the M27 because of the A31 closure (caused by the recent fires which have destroyed the equivalent of 240 football pitches in the New Forest). From that point on, we were in a slow-moving convoy all of the way to Brockenhurst. It was gone 13:00 before we arrived at the Forest Park Country Hotel. We were too early to check in, but sat in the bar with a beer and snack.

Refreshed, we went for a short walk to see the ponies who were sheltering from the blistering sun alongside walls and under trees. They were quite content and very happy to hold up traffic when they were in the mood. Being on foot, this didn’t trouble us. 

We returned to the hotel and checked in properly. I fetched the cases up to the room, and we unpacked. Then, we retired to the garden and sat in the shade of a large parasol and made the most of the glorious afternoon.

We had an early dinner, then went out for a walk in the forest. We found a quiet spot in an open area and sat down to call Ellie and see how she was faring. She hadn’t slept well last night, and spots were still coming out, but she was feeling okay in herself.

We returned to the hotel and settled in the garden with our Kindles. I spent some time writing this blog post, only to find that I couldn’t get connected to the Internet. Pah!