Last weekend, we went to Bournemouth and The New Forest. This was our first autumn Bournemouth beach visit, and we were so lucky with the weather! It was a perfectly sunny, chilly day and, unlike visiting in the summer, Wilbur could run off lead on the whole stretch of beach, and there weren’t too many people. Plus, you can park for under £5 for the whole day! Bournemouth holds lots of special memories for us, from getting engaged at Brownsea Island, to summer visits. You can see Wilbur’s first visit to the beach here.
Fish and Chips
The inspiration for the trip party partly came from us really wanting good fish and chips. We eat primarily vegetarian, so having fish is a real treat. Even Wilbur got a bit of fish! He was so excited that he immediately tried to bury it and “save it for later” (typical dachshund behaviour!). As you can see from the photos below, apart from a few dog walkers and sea gulls, we enjoyed our fish and chips on the beach in peace.
Walks along the beach
After walking down the beach to get our fish and chips we then walked back to the car to re-fill on coffee from Lucy’s new Thermos and then walked in the other direction. Wilbur met lots of new dog friends and we all had a good time strolling in the sand. We saw some daring swimmers, ski-dos, and even one of those water hoverboards zipping along the shoreline! Oh, and goats eating gorse on the hillsides, which I didn’t know was a thing (apparently the herd size has increased)!
The New Forest
After we had our fill of Bournemouth beach, we headed home via The New Forest. We always enjoy stopping at Blackwater Arboretum, but when we got to the car park it was full. However, just a bit further down the road was another car park with honestly an even nicer walk! We did the long loop (1.5miles) walk at Whitefield Moor, and as this was late afternoon in the autumn, we enjoyed a beautiful golden hour walk before sunset. There were lots of handsome dogs walking (and some crazy labs swimming), plus wild horses in the distance.
The great thing about going to Bournemouth for the day is that we can essentially combine two trips in one when we go home via The New Forest. Bournemouth, and the sequoias of Blackwater arboretum remind me so much of Vancouver (both sights and smells); it feels a bit like home away from home. This was our last mini-break of the year as we gear up for Christmas. We are excited to start planning 2024 camping trips and more adventures in all seasons!
