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.

Isle of Wight bonus

On the way back from the Isle of Wight we docked at Southampton at the same time that the new cruise ship the Queen Elizabeth was setting sail. We got a good view of quite an impressive ship through the windows of our boat.

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.

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.

I ran into Butterscotch in Southampton yesterday

Poor child in the picture. She has no idea whats about to happen to her...