New Forest Tour Day 2014

We've been very lucky with the weather lately, the sun has been shining non-stop here and it's been great for getting out and about. The lovely weather has arrived just in time to welcome the New Forest Tour Bus back for its 2014 season; kicking off on the 28th June the open top bus returned to cover its three routes across the New Forest calling at various towns, villages and attractions throughout the forest.

Our itinerary for the day

Shorefield Country Park and Lytton Lawn Touring Park are on the blue route for the second year running after the new coastal route was added in 2013. We had great success with the New Forest Tour last year and many of our guests took advantage of the opportunity to explore the New Forest without having to take the car.

The first bus we caught, the red route from Lyndhurst

To publicise the return of the New Forest Tour, a social media day was organised by the New Forest National Park Authority and we were lucky enough to be invited along with several other business' that are located on the three routes. So, on a beautiful Wednesday morning we all assembled at Lyndhurst ready to catch the first bus on the red route to Burley, which is well known for its history of witchcraft. We stopped in Burley for an hour, giving us time to properly explore the village with its vast array of speciality shops including New Forest Cider, Burley Fudge Shop, gift shops and much more. There were also plenty of New Forest ponies wondering about, some had even taken up residence in the pub car park, probably waiting for a drink to cool down.  

New Forest ponies waiting for the pub to open

After a stroll around Burley, we hopped on the blue route which visits some lovely coastal locations including Keyhaven, Barton-on-Sea, Milford-on-Sea and of course Lymington, which is where we got off to take a look around. Lymington is not only fantastic for shopping but it also has a wonderful cobbled street leading down to Lymington Quay. There are boat trips that leave from the Quay ranging from short river trips to longer cruises to the Needles, you can also catch the ferry to the Isle of Wight from here.

Lymington Quay

Once we'd explored Lymington we hopped on the New Forest Tour once again, this time it was the green route, which takes you to some fantastic attractions such as Exbury Gardens and Beaulieu Motor Museum. It also stops at the popular village of Brockenhurst, a great place to spot ponies roaming free amongst the village. The green route also took us back to Lyndhurst, where we concluded our day out on the New Forest Tour.

Beaulieu

I had a great day on the tour and got to see so many sights and attractions throughout the forest, a highlight was seeing plenty of New Forest ponies and foals wondering through the forest. I can highly recommend a trip on the New Forest Tour, a great way to see the beautiful New Forest in all its glory. Take a look at some of our photos from the New Forest Tour day on our Facebook page.

A great time had by all on the New Forest Tour

The New Forest Tour runs every day until the 14th September and tickets can be purchased on-board or from the New Forest Tour website, where you'll receive 10% off your ticket price when you book online. WI     

    

Something for the Weekend

The weather has been great this week and it looks like the sun will be shining this weekend too; great timing for our two big events happening this weekend.

The first being our exclusive Willerby and BK Holiday Homes open weekend at Shorefield Country Park. There will be a selection of luxury holiday homes on display and both our Shorefield sales team as well as representatives from Willerby will be on-hand to answer any questions. Best of all there will be complimentary refreshments and a BBQ, perfect for the beautiful weather. If you'd like to come along, the event will be running from 10am to 7pm on Saturday and Sunday.

We'll also be taking part in Lymington Carnival, which I know the team taking part are very excited about. We're normally present at Milford on Sea Carnival but sadly it has been cancelled this year; so we will be taking our float to Lymington instead.

The carnival theme this year is entertainment and I'm certain our 'James Bond' themed float will be very entertaining for on-lookers. So if you'd like to come along the procession will be at Pennington Common & Square at 6.00 pm and St Thomas Street & High Street at 6.45pm where there'll be a pipe band, a marching band display, jazz band, lots of floats and much more. If you can't make it, don't worry as we'll be about to take plenty of pictures for you to enjoy next week. WI

Ahoy there

I have been getting excited all week about the prospect of sailing with Escape Yachting a charter company who operate out of Lymington and offer various solutions designed to meet your sailing requirements, from day sailing out of Lymington to Caribbean cruising. Unlike many other charter companies operating, Escape offer packages for individuals and small groups meaning you don’t have to cover the expense of taking out an entire boat on your own. I arrived at Lymington Yacht Haven for a 09:00 rendezvous which is a five minute drive from Shorefield Country Park.

The group all arrived and promptly boarded the Jeanneau yacht and met with David our skipper and Tim the chef; we had a safety briefing and discussed our plans for the day. As we motored out of the marina and into the Solent, Tim offered everyone a glass of Champagne or orange juice. The sails were hoisted and although the wind was light some good sailing was enjoyed and anyone who wanted to try their hand at the wheel was invited to do so, it’s not every day that I’m encouraged to take the helm a quarter of a million pounds worth of yacht and it was a breath taking experience.

We dropped anchor at Newtown Harbour for lunch which is a tranquil spot across the water from Lymington on the Isle of Wight, lunch was delicious and very well received as yachting is surprisingly hungry work. The food  as mentioned was great and the surroundings exceptional, should you want to drink with your meal you are welcome to bring your own alcohol or this can be arranged to be ready on board for you.

After lunch the wind picked up to about 15 knots and we were able to put the boat through its paces a bit more, this really was a lot of fun as the thing really could shift. Everyone who wanted to was invited to have a go at each element of the sailing, alternatively there is always the option to chill out and let the crew take care of everything whilst you relax. We were back in the marina by 15:00 and everyone on board had a great day. I absolutely recommend this as a fantastic day out and I will certainly be booking myself on another sail with them in the future. BL

Something for the Weekend

We have once again come to the end of the week so its time for us to write about what the team are up to this weekend and perhaps inspire our readers to get out and about in the local area.

I am going to be sailing in the Lymington Summer Regatta you should be able to see some of the racing from Hurst spit either Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning. Whilst I'm writing on a nautical theme I will be posting a review of Escape Yachting next week which is a great way to get sailing on the Solent, more to follow. BL 

For the first time this Saturday the New Forest Tour open top bus will be picking up New Forest sightseers at Shorefield Country Park.

The New Forest Tour is the perfect way to explore the beautiful New Forest without a car and a fantastic way to see some of the highlights that England’s newest National Park has to offer. On the route there are a wealth of attractions including Beaulieu National Motor Museum, New Forest Cider, ExburyGardens and of course some of the towns that are situated in the New Forest.

We’ll be taking a ride this weekend to celebrate Shorefield Country Park being added to the brand new blue route and taking a look at some of the key attractions on the route. WI