Hiltingbury Lakes

Hiltingbury lakes is probably the best known woodland area in Chandlers Ford. The woods surround several Edwardian water gardens. They are located close to the main town centre, near Waitrose etc.

Two of these form a large ornamental lake which is a popular place to fish.

The rest are smaller and more wild, providing a wetland habitat for wildlife.


I'm very found of the woods around this smaller section as walking through them feels a bit like exploring a rain forest.


Overall the lakes is a short but rewarding walk, especially in Autumn or Spring when the trees are at their prettiest.

Hythe and Portsmouth

Been a bit of a while since I last posted anything here but I have been busy moving to Southampton and preparing to move to Japan in August. From next month I will be working as a JET ALT in Takanabe Town, Miyazaki Prefecture. I'll try to blog a lot more then as well as add to my woods of Chandlers Ford series.


For now here are a few pictures from Hythe, a small town across the water from Southampton which is accessible by a small ferry service.


The ferry goes from Town Quay in Southampton to Hythe Pier, which has one of the oldest still in operation pier railways in the world.


The view of Southampton from other the water really gives a different prospective on the city.


It's also a great place to watch ships traveling down the Solent as the view is relatively unhindered unlike in Southampton were most of the seafront consists of docks.


As a bonus here are some extra Portsmouth photo's showing Southsea Castle in front of which the Mary Rose sank (it's a great place to visit at the moment since it's free of charge) and the cityscape under some very stormy looking weather.

Great Covert

Since I'll be moving to Southampton in the near future, I thought I take the opportunity to do some posts on the woods and sites of natural interest in the area.

The first wood is one of the largest in the Chandlers Ford area, Great Covert. It isn't technically open to the public but a few footpaths skirt the edges. Currently, the main entrances deeper into the wood are blocked but at the time these pictures were taken, it was easier to get into the wood.

The tree are mainly coniferous and there are large clearings dotted around.

The lack of formal footpaths and almost complete absence of other people give the wood a really wild feeling, and I often see deer, unusual birds and, in the summer, tons of butterflies. It's a great place to lose yourself in.

A good way to enjoy the Great Covert and not get into trouble is to take the foot path which leads of castle lane and skirts around the eastern edge of the wood. After a while there is a path to the left which leads into Zionshill Copse, another interesting piece of woodland that I will cover in a future post.

Winchester walking

Last weekend I visited a roman exhibition in Winchester. Afterwards I went on a walk along the Itchen river to the north of the city. I had planned to travel back along the Itchen Way but was stopped in my tracks by a mysterious black dog. Given the long history of the city and its connections to mythology, perhaps it was a phantom black dog of legend?

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Walk in the fields

This weekend I went on a short in the fields to the east of Eastleigh. Despite being very muddy, the weather was very nice and the boggy woods had a fairytale like quality. Spring seems just around the corner at last.

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Portsmouth again

A few pictures from Portsmouth before and after the Bilbao trip.

The view from the ferry as we left port.

Sunset and the Spinnaker Tower the day we returned.

An extremely odd statue on the hard by Portsmouth Harbour.

Southampton Water Again

A few weekends ago I went to Southampton water again to watch a battle of Britain flyover. The flyover was short but impressive. The roaring drone of the planes made me think about what it must have been like to hear those sounds for real 70 years ago.

After the flyover we decided to have a picnic since it was nice and sunny. However, when we got out of the shop the weather had changed and we had to eat her ice creams in the cold, wet wind.

We then had a stroll along the beach by the water. Well I say beach but actually it was mainly stones. All the industrial stuff in the distance makes for an almost apocalyptic landscape don't you think?

Finally we explored Victoria Country Park which used to be home to a massive military hospital. All that remains now is a single chapel which you can see in the picture above.

Farnbrough Airshow

Last week I went to the Farnbrough airshow on a work trip.

I got to see new fancy new commercial aircraft like this Airbus 380.

As well as the latest military aircraft.

And aerial displays. Since it was a trade day there weren't too many people watching the shows which I quite liked.

But my favourite plane was the Boeing Dreamliner 787 which I was lucky enough to see before it left to go back to America. I really likes how graceful it seems in the air. One day I hope I can ride in it. The two small planes on either side are a hurricane and a spitfire by the way.

Portsmouth

I had to go to Portsmouth for a work course last week and took the opportunity to take some photos of the impressive harbour area.

First off is Spinnaker Tower, a fairly recent addition to the area. At 170 meters it dominates the sky line from much of the city but also manages to blend in with Portsmouth's maritime atmosphere.

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard is home to famous ships from British history such as HMS Victory and HMS Warrior as well as many naval exhibitions and museums. The photo above is of HMS Warrior.

In between the two attractions is Gunwharf Quays, a cosmopolitan shopping and leisure complex with lots of designer outlets and trendy restaurants. I really like it, as it has quite a different atmosphere to anything else in the Hampshire area.

The Harbour area is definitely my favourite place in Portsmouth and I love the sense of adventure I get from seeing all the boats heading out for see. I love imagining the feeling of excitement there must have been when ships set out from Portsmouth to explore the world in the hey-day of the British Empire.

May Day!

Happy May Day!

To celebrate the bank holiday I went for a short walk in the local area. Despite the large industrial estate behind my house there are quite a few nice green areas and bits of woodland. Some of the trees are still in bloom and the weather seems to have turned for the better, resulting in a very tranquil atmosphere perfect for a relaxing stroll.

A walk in the New Forest

I went for a walk in the New Forest in Hampshire.

It started off in the Churchyard of St Nicholas' Church in Brockenhurst. It hosts the grave of Brusher Mills, a 19th Century snakecatcher who caught thousands of snakes in the New Forest. A pub in Brockenhurst is named The Snakecatcher in his memory.

The path then meandered through a woodland nature reserve and then out into open farmland

It was an unusually sunny and dry and these pigs seemed to be enjoying the good weather.

I then headed into Ivy Wood, enjoying the bright spring flowers beside the river Lymington before returning to Brockenhurst and its impressive period buildings.

Itchen and Solent Ways

Last weekend I walked along a section of the Solent and Itchen ways, two long distance footpaths that pass through Hampshire. I've walked along sections of the Itchen way before but this was my first time on the Solent way. I started in Netley and finished up in St Denys. I was impressed by the mud flats along Southampton Water which are home to many wintering sea birds but the Itchen way section passed through too many urban and industrial areas and was completely unmarked. However there were some pleasant stretches next to the river including this dilapidated boat that reminded me of a ghost ship.

And this nature reserve.

It was also Diwali so there were lots of Christmas lights and fireworks around. Really got me in the mood for the Christmas season.