New Forest

16 August 2011

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having been born and bred on the Isle of Wight, I thought it quite odd that I never had visited the New Forest! Its a huge area of National Park land on the south coast, just a short hop over the water from good ol'Wighty. So, we chucked our stuff in the car and went in search of some sun {ANY sun!} for our first wedding anniversary weekend.

I loved the damp green velvety moss all over the trees and the ground, the huge tall pine trees and of course, the wild horses that roam about freely in the woods and heathland areas. Within the park lies some towns and villages, and quite astonishingly, those horses are free to walk down the middle of the roads, into the villages, eating anything in their paths, we saw one big old horse standing head on to a car coming the other way, looking as though it was going to charge at it, its all very amusing. Lots of foals too which are unbelievably cute!

one day we took our camping stove and various pickles and cheeses to a steam in the woods and had ourselves a very fine luncheon.

we were staying at a campsite right in the middle of the woods, on a farm. It was horrendously full, but we found a spot at the bottom field right opposite a pond, which was lovely.

as a treat, I splashed out on some new sleeping bags, I hate that sweaty nylon feel of our old bags. These are from Anorak, 100% cotton, made in Britain! mine has seagulls on it, and Nao's has stags.

a nice bbq and a rest in front of the pond, looovelllyyy.

next day was our anniversary, one whole year of being a Mr. and a Mrs. {accept of course I'm a Ms.!}
we had lots to ponder about, but i have to say that being married is very nice indeed and highly recommended!
I made Nao a card in the few minutes before we left for our trip, it leaves little to be desired but its the thought that counts, right?

and Nao made me a ring! a little Laurel Leaf carved ring of 18ct white gold. It is the same design as his wedding ring. He also lined an antique ring box with Liberty print fabric, amazing!
we had a nice leisurely breakfast as we'd found out that we had to vacate that field on sunday! what a weird campsite eh?

after packing up we went down to Lymington which I am fairly familiar with as it has a car-ferry connection to the Isle of Wight. But we went on a Puffin Cruise, a small boat which takes people out onto the Solent. We wanted to go on a long trip to see the Needles lighthouse but it was cancelled, so we went for a quick trip to the Solent and back anyways...

the sky was grey and spectacular.

back at the harbour, we had a drink and sat on the harbour wall and admired the locals...

lots of crab fishing going on!

after inspecting every campsite in the Forest, we ended up going back to the original one seeing as we had already paid for it, it was very busy and tightly packed, but we managed to have a very lovely evening in fact!
We ate asparagus and shitake mushrooms, {asparagus make my wee smell really odd, is it just me?}.

Nao washed his hair in a bowl, and I helped.

going back home, we met some more locals who seemed to think the roads are there for them...

we stopped by Beaulieu and had a nap in a meadow and fed some horses...

and then back to London, ACCEPT we made a de-tour to west-sussex where we also broke down! But thats another story {which i will tell you later on!}.

46 comments

  1. Such a beautiful time, I love the New Forest! x

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  2. Oh gorgeous camping as always! You so do it in style. I've just pinned the sleeping bag on pinterest and off to nag my hubby into submission...I neeeeeed it! lou x

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  3. Beautiful photos! I love the horses!

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  4. It's all so lovely!!! Enjoy your beautiful ring. :)

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  5. Have only just discovered your beautiful ramblings and am having great fun reading through your posts from the start. Happy First Anniversary to two lovely people. We used to spend lots of time in the New Forest when my cousin lived there but she moved to Spain a few years ago and we miss our trips. Thanks for sharing your lovely weekend. Karen X

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  6. it looks like an amazing place, I always wanted to go. your photos are gorgeous! ... and no, I don't think it's just you, weirdly asparagus does seem to do that!!

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  7. This is such a beautiful blog post, thanks for sharing! Having never been to the New Forest I am now very tempted, but want to steal your sleeping bags they look ace :)

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  8. Those sleeping bags Kick. Ass. Beautiful pics :)

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  9. How lovely! And what a beautiful ring, you lucky lady. You aren’t alone with the asparawee...it is a known occurrence, that I believe everyone gets, however, I think I read somewhere that oddly not everyone can smell it, even if they have it. A little fact for you there, but don’t quote me on it, as i do tend to jumble up my facts :)

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  10. I love reading your camping tales, and those horses are lovely! x

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  11. You've been married a whole year? It seems like a few weeks ago!!!
    I do love reading about your trips - you certainly make the most of your free time!
    Oh - and CONGRATULATIONS!!!

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  12. Happy (Belated) Anniversary! Such a beautiful way to spend it too and I'm ever-so-in-love with your sleeping bags! That moss is so gorgeous, I wish I could cover my whole house with green moss like that :-)

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  13. you have the cutest camping trips. They even make me (never camped, like my hotels) want to go!!

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  14. It seems like you just hopped on over into an entirely different universe. A magical universe at that!

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  15. what a lovely way to spend your anniversary...i would love for you to tell us the story of how you both met :-) (i'm a romantic like that), the gifts were so thoughtful too.

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  16. ZenZen16.8.11

    Love reading about your camping escapades ! You are right about asparaguswee - bit like wet hay. Try eating beetroot for more surprises ;-)

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  17. i just looove your camping posts! your whole blog is dreamy and gorgeous. i want a tent like yours!!!

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  18. what a journey, so can be camping, a kindly way of luxury, congratulaiton too for the 1.st year, still for the next 50 or 60 te may be....... the first pictures seems like a miracle.
    cu

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  19. AnneB16.8.11

    This is just lovely. Only just found your blog but will be reading it in future. x

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  20. One year already?! Where did that time go...congratulations to you both. Loving all your camping adventure posts x

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  21. Congratulations on your first year as Mr and Mrs........how romantic your camping getaway looks, and I had not heard of Anorak bits...hummm shall have a little look!
    Nattie x

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  22. What a wonderful anniversary! Such beautiful photographs!!!

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  23. Loved seeing your photographs as we camped in the New Forest last weekend. We stayed in a little campsite called Toms Field which was great (but weekend only). I loved the purple heather and wild horses (but your pics are better than mine). Also, the asparagus wee thing is very common but doesn't happen to everyone and no-one knows why that is!

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  24. Anonymous16.8.11

    congratulations on your first year together.. it only gets better! its been 5 years for me and time flies right on by when you're having fun! the photos are beautiful and i love all the mossy trees!

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  25. Happy Anniversary! Lovely card and ring. And love the horses!

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  26. My partner and I went on our first ever camping trip together at the new forest about 6 years ago, and we're woken up by horses going through our rubbish! Thanks for reminding me of those romantic days : )
    Happy anniversary!!

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  27. Ieie! New Forest! I've been chased by a donkey there once, a long time ago. Wonderful place (except for the chase then, heehee).
    Such lovely pictures and congrats on your anniversary!

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  28. Mabel Frumau17.8.11

    No you are not the only one who´s wee smells strange after eating aspargus ;-). A few years ago I went to the doctor, cause I thought something was wrong with me. Turns out it were those damn aspargus. How embarassing. My friends had a good laugh about it. Anyways, really enjoying your blog. Greetings from Amsterdam.

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  29. Asubiame17.8.11

    Hi!!
    Looooovely blog and adventures!!
    Also I fell in love with your tent!!Where can I find it???
    XXX

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  30. Love to be in a place where the wild horses run free. Love the pictures. Looks really relaxing and serene. A nice way to spend your anneversary. Enjoy the rest of your fairtale and will enjoy reading about it!

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  31. Hello! I have just discovered your blog through another blog I read (www.blogspot.com/simplyhdesigns)
    and absolutely adore your images & style! I got excited when I read a blog post you wrote back in March, featuring the Blue Brick Cafe & the beautiful blue gate with birds on North Cross Road - my husband grew up just around the corner from there and these sights have become some of my favourite in East Dulwich : )

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  32. I'm also a new visitor here in your charming blog and I want to say that your trip sounds and looks amazing, thank you posting about it :) and those sleeping bags..they are so cute!

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  33. Anonymous17.8.11

    Once again... your photos are just outstanding. And what a story you tell in both words and photos. Congratulations on your wedding anniversay.

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  34. That looks like the most amazing experience. So beautiful!

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  35. Beautiful! You make camping look so luxurious!

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  36. Wow! It's like a fairy tale forest. I am in love with the photo of the first horse.

    Happy anniversary ,

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  37. Wishing you both a very happy first anniversary. You have such cute camping style! :) x

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  38. Oh my goodness. This is just the perfect way to spend an anniversary. That speckled horse, that tent, those sleeping bags, and meals cooked on the fire. and THAT ring. Really all just so perfect!

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  39. what a perfectly wonderful way to celebrate...

    Ingrid x

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  40. I loved it. Particularly your photos

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  41. Anonymous19.8.11

    Stunning photos as always. Never been to the New Forest - although I really must invest in a couple of those sleeping bags before I do ;-)

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  42. congrats! wow, that was a quick year. looks like a proper celebration, cheers to another!

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  43. so so so in love with new forest. it cleared my head to finish up my paper in oxford. totally inspiring and magical. hope to visit again soon. your photos are lovely, as always!

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  44. happy anniversary!
    we were on the new forest as well, such an amazing place and we went to the isle of wight and i must admit i thought of you! it's a wonderful land!
    my daughter's anorak sleeping bed has rabbits on it, aren't they just wonderful?!
    (PS:glad you escaped the flood!)

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  45. Hi,

    Your camping trips look lovely. How do you find your tiny campsites? I love camping and have spent many a night in a chilly field. I'd love to hear where you camped in the new forrest or if you have a book of sites.

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  46. This is beautiful. I know you have probably been asked a thousand times but where did you get you tent from? Is it the one from your wedding? looks like a great investment I would love one!

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