a day at the sea - milford-on-sea + lymington (part two)

On Monday I shared with you guys some photos of my recent outing to Milford-on-Sea, in the New Forest, where I went to spend the day with my mum for her birthday. She just want to be by the seaside, and who can blame her really, when the weather turned out to be absolutely amazing by the end of the day. The grey skies cleared and the clouds that were skidding across the sky passed over, and we got the most amazing sun and the temperature really picked up. 

The spit of land in front of you in the photos actually leads out to Hurst Castle, and in the distance is the Isle of Wight. The castle is apparently an old fortress of Henry VIII, and you can read more about that here, but it's somewhere I'd really love to visit. Maybe in the new year it's something I can do, because it'd be really cool to walk along the shingle spit to the castle. Apparently it is prone to erosion, and some of the rocks have come all the way from Norway to stabilise the land there between the solent and the saltmarshes. 

Then as we were leaving, the sun seemed to know it, as the closer we go to the car, the sun drifted back behind the clouds and it was transformed back to the regular grey clouds we were used to. It feels like somewhere really old, and I'm not just saying that in my overly romantic ways, but it feels like a place that will just go on existing long after we're gone, with the same noise of the water lapping in the seaweed, the noise of birds coming in to land on the water and wind in the grasses going on forever.

Okay, so I am being overly sentimental and romantic, but it's a really interesting place that I had no idea existed, and I really want to explore more of..

Let me know in the comments if you've been somewhere similar, particularly if you're in the UK, because I love finding places that I've never been to before, like undiscovered little gems (in my eyes at least.)

a day at the sea - milford-on-sea + lymington (part one)

It was my mums birthday recently - I asked her what she would like to do, and she answered that she wanted to just go to the seaside for the day. A strange request perhaps, but my mum loves all things seasidey and beach related, so it wasn't really that much of a surprise. So we went down to Lymington, in the New Forest, where we perused the market and the little shops and the beautiful Georgian buildings on the high street (I felt like I was back at uni, in Farnham). Afterwards, we went for a walk down at Milford on Sea. The sky was really grey and dark at first, and it felt like such a perfect autumn day, all brisk and cool and windy.

Even though we went there for my mothers birthday, I have to say I was completely in my element, the light was coming through the clouds perfectly. Milford-on-sea is a weird place to go for a walk, the land goes up to a ridge where you can walk along a man-made pebble and rock peninsula to Hurst Castle, but before that you can walk alongside these tidal pools.

It's a really atmospheric place, too, with all the noise from the boat masts ringing, the wind in the grasses along by the water. I've take a load of photographs, it's the first time my new camera has had it's first proper outing, so forgive the mountain of photos! I took so many, in fact, that I'm going to separate them in to two posts, so keep your eye out for those.
Maybe it's just me but I feel like it's such a British thing to go for a walk at the water in the winter, it's really peaceful, generally, and I just enjoy the time I spent there, with family. 

binocular view

Another bunch of sea-based photos for your eyes.. Yesterday we went for a walk around the headland and there were some amazing views out across the sea - I borrowed my dads binoculars and watched the birds floating out on the thermals over the sea and the land. The rocks down there are fearsome, too, it's really good fun to watch the waves crashing - it all feels very prehistoric and cool.

all roads lead to the beach

So I am here in Devon, and it feels like I am home. It is weird how that happens, isn't it? My parents used to drag us here every year when I was little, and I always felt like I was missing out because my parents never took us anywhere 'exciting' like Disneyland Florida or Majorca... it makes me laugh now to think like that! I love this corner of the world, it feels so perfect and like nothing has changed. The small little high-street of the main town and the walk down the lane to the beach are exactly the same: and the sea.. Coming round the corner on the slightly terrifying coastal road and seeing the water stretch out in front to the island.. It's bittersweet, in that I am not a happy little carefree child anymore, content to make sandcastles - and so much has changed since then.. but it's still the same lovely place and I am so happy to be here. I wish my older brother could be here too, but unfortunately he couldn't make it. I am tucked up in bed writing this, but wondering what I can get up to tomorrow..

beachy times

Two or three weekends ago I was victim of a vicious assault... well, I fell over when I was drunk. I did my ankle in pretty badly, and it's kind of insulting that I wasn't even wearing heels. Anyway, feeling quite sorry for myself, I phoned my dad and he lovingly came and picked me up and took me home, I couldn't even drive myself! I felt pretty sorry for myself. Me and my mother were supposed to go out to Brighton for the day, but as I could barely walk, my dad offered to take us somewhere. I had this urge to go to the coast, so my dad drove us to Hayling Island and it was such beautiful weather, perfect for sitting in the sun with a jumper and scarf. Me and my mum had a little wander along the sand, and then sat and ate our lunch whilst looking for shells and pretty rocks. I ended up filling a jar with lovely coloured stones, and it made me feel so much better. I've been feeling pretty stressed with a lot of things recently, and looking at pictures and memories like these makes me a lot happier, so I thought I would share them here to maybe cheer up someone else. 

I know I'm still quite absent, but some changes have happened that I know I'll need to get used too, and trying to do all this with uni stress bearing down is challenging, but I'm doing alright. I've started to lose a few followers in my absence, but I hope a few of you loyal ones will stick with me until I'm back to normal!