South Coast Trip day 13 - Eastbourne

We went separate ways today. Shirley went into Eastbourne with Phyllis, Tracy and Linda, while Scott went for a cycle run.

Scott drove east past Pevensey to Norman's Bay, and took Amber for a short walk on the beach.

Then left Amber in the campervan and cycled along the seafront, past Bexhill and on to Hastings.

Hastings has a pier which was burnt down long before the Eastbourne fire, but they're eventually getting round to repairing it now.

In the old part of Hastings there are lots of wooden fishing huts, smokeries I presume.

The steepest funicular in Britain also goes up the cliff there.

Went into the old streets, and had a pint in the historic Stag Inn.

Cycled back to the campervan and took Amber on the beach again, and went for a swim in the sea. Then drove back to Eastbourne, buying some provisions in Asda and having a pint at the Victoria Hotel.

Met up with Shirley again at Tracy's allotment where we helped with some weeding, then drove  back to Phylis's house where we had pizza for dinner.

South Coast Trip day 12 - Eastbourne

In the morning we had breakfast, showered and packed up. There was a bit of an argument between the site owner and some other guests who he was accusing of trying to get two showers for the price of one - wee bit of excitement.

We then left and drove to Bognor Regis. Had a walk along the sea front - not very auspicious really, quite run-down. Walked into town and bought some rock, and some jigsaws from charity shops to take to Phyllis. Drove past Butlins holiday camp as well.

We then drove on to Arundel, which was a much better class of place! Had a look at the castle from the outside and a walk round the town. We saw plenty of ducks and a water vole on the riverbank.

We had lunch at the side of Swanbourne Lake, then went for a walk down the the river Arun, which had good views back to the castle.

Before we left we had a pint at the Red Lion. We then drove on towards Eastbourne. We know the Shoreham air show was on, and when we got there loads of people were simply stopping at the side of the road to watch, so we did likewise. Saw Spitfires, Dakotas, Messerschmidts and a few others.

We then drove on, taking the coast road through Brighton, and stopped at Beachy Head for a short walk.

We finally arrived at Phyllis's house about 6.30pm. Tracy was there too and we went out for dinner at the local pub, the Rodmill Inn. Scott had a big Porky Pig Platter, Shirley had caulieflower tart, then we shared a Choco Mountain!

South Coast Trip day 11 - Almodington

We packed up and left the site, driving east. Drove over to Hayling Island to have a look, stopped and took Amber for a walk on the shore. We went on to Bosham which was very nice, and had coffee and a cake in a cafe.

Next stop was Chichester where we parked in a car park and walked into town. There was a farmers' market on in the High Street, we just bought a couple of snacks. Then we went for a look round Chichester cathedral.

After the cathedral we walked round the city walls for a bit, then had our lunch. We drove on towards our destination, going through West and East Wittering on the way. Didn't find anywhere scenic to stop that didn't involve paying a fortune to park.

Finally we arrived at the next site, Everdean, a small site in the country. After setting up we went for a walk but it was too far for Amber to get to the coast so we aborted and took the campervan instead. There were a few hardy surfers on Brocklesham beach but we didn't stay long as it was pretty windy.

We then drove to East Wittering and had a pint in the Shore Inn. Then back to the campervan to cook burgers and sausages for dinner.

South Coast Trip day 10 - New Forest

We went for a run first thing, lots of nice flat paths through the campsite and surrounding forest. After showers and breakfast we went for a walk with Amber, weather was pretty sunny and warm. Saw quite a few ponies in the trees and meadows.

After this we left Amber in the campervan and went for a cycle. Through the trees at first, then onto the road finally arriving in Lyndhurst.

At Lyndhurst we bought some provisions from the butcher, then cycled back a different way through the forest. Stopped for lunch on a dead tree in a clearing.

We saw a field of small deer with large antlers.

After getting back we walked into Brockenhurst and had a pint at the Rose and Crown, it was very sunny and warm at this point.

Later we had a barbecue for dinner - venison burger, pork belly and vegetable kebabs.

South Coast Trip day 9 - New Forest

We packed up and left the site, driving east along the coast road to Weymouth. Part of the road was behind Chesil beach. We stopped at the Chesil beach car park and walked out onto the huge pebbly beach (18km long).

We got back into the campervan and drove onto Portland. We stopped at a viewpoint back down to Chesil beach. It was a bit windy and rainy at this point.

Portland has many historical artifacts, such as gun batteries and forts.

At the southernmost tip of Portland is Pulpit Rock and the Portland Bill lighthouse. We had lunch in the car park at the lighthouse.

We then drove on to our next site, Holland's Wood in the New Forest. This is a true forest site where you pick your spot among the trees. New Forest ponies freely wander through the site.

We walked into Brockenhurst, the nearest village, and had a pint in the Foresters' Arms. Then back for dinner, beef stew and potatoes.

South Coast Trip day 8 - Charmouth

We went for a short run before breakfast, then drove down to the beach at Charmouth. This is where a lot of the fossil hunting takes place, there were loads of people hammering away at rocks and digging through the gravel. There were volunteers around giving advice and identifying finds. It was sunny for most of the day.

Shirley found a small ammonite, and we also found another couple of bits and pieces of fossil.

We then had a look in the fossil museum followed by having lunch in the campervan. After lunch we drove along the coast a bit to Seatown. Took Amber for a walk up the cliff path then went hunting for more fossils.

The rain over the previous days had dislodged some more of the cliff face and this proved to be very fruitful. Scott found two large ammonites.

We had a pint in the Anchor Inn in Seatown before driving to Lyme Regis and having a walk on the beach there. After a pint in the Red Lion we bought some of the local scrumpy to take back.

Dinner was curry made from leftover chicken from the barbecue at Purbeck.

South Coast Trip day 7 - Charmouth

It rained during the night, and was raining  heavily in the morning. A walk had been organised for the Monday but nobody was keen. We helped clear up the centre, and pottered about drinking coffee and doing jigsaws.

People started drifting off back to Bristol, so at about 12 we left and went with Pete and Jenny to Swanage. When we got there it was still very wet, so we did a bit of shopping then went for a pint in the Red Lion. For lunch we had chips from a chip shop at the sea front.

Pete and Jenny headed home, and we got in the campervan and drove to our next stop, Westover Farm near Charmouth, further up the Jurassic Coast.

After setting up we went for a walk. The path went through a field but there were loads of cows coming in the opposite direction who didn't really take kindly to Amber so we retreated.

We walked down the road to Wootton Fitzpaine,  a small hamlet with some nice cottages.

After returning to the van we had leftover curry from the weekend for dinner, and stayed in and read.

South Coast Trip day 6 - Purbeck

After breakfast in the field we drove to the centre. The walk today was to Kimmeridge Bay, so we pottered around for an hour or so after they  left then drove there, with Rachel.

We went for a walk up to the headland to Clavell Tower, a folly built in 1830. It's recently been moved brick-by-brick to a position further back from the cliff edge due to erosion. It's a holiday cottage now.

Around lunch time the rest of the group arrived and we had lunch on the beach. As we were sitting there we were aware of  the constant erosion, with bits falling off the cliff behind us all the time.

We left Amber in the campervan and walked with the group for a bit. There's a working shale oil well just behind the beach, with a nodding-donkey drill.

The views from the ridge above the bay were stunning. The weather was fine, some sunshine and some cloud.

A kind farmer stopped with a load of apples going spare and let us help ourselves.

Shirley decided to carry on walking with the group, while Scott and Rachel went back to the campervan. Kimmeridge village had some nice thatched cottages.

We drove to have a look at Tyneham village, which was evacuated during the Second World War for the army to use as target practice, and has remained abandoned and mostly ruined ever since.

For dinner that evening a bunch of us drove to Scott's Arms in Kingston - Scott had burger and Shirley had goat's cheese salad. We then all met up at the Square and Compass in Worth Matravers again, and had a somewhat late night.

There was some rain in the evening.