Late May holiday cycling

We took the Bank Holiday week to go down to Netley Waterside again, after a couple of year gap, and for the first time, taking the folding bike I got last spring for holiday purposes, which meant that in just an initial quick ramble I could go further in either direction than the long walks I did back then.

The weather was fine, except for a wet Friday, and generally pleasant to be out in, even if at times through an uneasy balance of sultry heat and strong breezes, as for the expedition to the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens on the Bank Holiday Monday. In fact, the weather usually exceeded expectations set by the forecasts, such that I ended up acquiring more of a tan than I'd expected.

Having forgotten to pack a map, I ended up following the National Cycle Network 2 signs a lot, filling in the gaps by dead reckoning, especially in the places where the paved surface suddenly stopped, but being hemmed in between coast and motorway, that didn't leave too much scope for getting lost -- just scope for somewhat more ups-and-downs than I needed, grinding in bottom gear, as in the sub-optimal routes through the back doubles in Bursledon, and too much main A-road for crossing the Hamble. Next time, having discovered the foot ferry on the last way back, I might be able to cut out much of the main road and hills.

Hovercraft Museum, Lee-on-Solent

Also, lacking a map, I didn't realise quite how close I came to running out of road entirely, not realising that Portsmouth Harbour was that close.

D-Day plaque at the Rising Sun, Warsash

Many of the pubs I passed on my wanderings were rather sea-sidey, but the Rising Sun at Warsash was a more traditional rural pub, that overcame the handicap of being a Greene King house, and served most excellent sandwiches. Their take on chicken bacon mayo was not the vaguely unpleasant mush by the same name that were offered as packed lunches by the Revitalise team, but a coarsely sliced chicken breast, a couple of rashers, and a pot of mayo to add to taste on doorstops from a fresh soft bloomer loaf -- washed down with a pint of Rsing Sun bitter, an excellent lunch!

A week in the country

In the second week of the month, I took Karen for a week at the Park House Hotel at Sandringham.

Park House

Unfortunately, the weather was not as nice as the previous week -- winds off the North Sea bringing cloud much of the time -- but at the other end of the house, there's a large conservatory joining the main building to the Coach House annex, which was amply warm (indeed, needed air-conditioning on the mornings when the sun shone); and the location was sufficiently secluded that we were not disturbed by the neighbours whose house we could see from the bottom of the garden

The neighbours

The late spring meant that the rhododendrons were at full flush

Rhododendrons

The accommodation was basic, but apart from sleeping we didn't spend much time in the room; and the catering was adequate. Day one was a misdirection with a menu including gyoza to start and locally-reared steak as a main; the clientèle being mostly seniors the food was somewhat unadventurous without quite the plain home cooking feel that Vitalise Netley did. But the location did give perks -- like an estate tour that went into the Royal Stud

Royal Applause deigns to make an appearance

and into the non-public bits of the gardens.

Sandringham gardens from backstage

We made an independent expedition to the Gin Trap at Ringstead for lunch and Norfolk Lavender for smellies

Harvester

And while we skipped the organized outingd to King's Lynn and the Thurston Collection of steam things, we did go to Pensforth, jorneying down narrow lanes in driving drizzle, only to have the sky clear and the sun shine as we arrived to be mugged by waterfowl.

Mugged by waterfowl

The red squirrels were rather more obliging

A red squirrel

Another red squirrel

Other items of note -- I managed to drink them dry of Adnams by the end of the week, and had to move onto Old Speckled Hen; the wifi didn't agree with the 7 year old hardware and 4 year old drivers of my travel laptop, but fortunately I could get at an ethernet connection instead, or use a tablet. And there are miles of trails in the park (and on the sandy soil, comfortable for going barefoot), so it didn't matter so much that I didn't have a bicycle

Beware the Raven

So well rested, we headed home, having loaded up with very tasty local beef from the butcher at West Newton

Park House Terrace