The next part of our journey took six trains to complete, but was easy and comfortable. The last train, from Brockenhurst to Lymington Town, was on the only slam-door train still operating on a public route in England, this part of the line being labelled as a ‘heritage line’. We met a friendly couple on the Brockenhurst station and shared a carriage with them, discovering that the wife had worked with the wife of the brother of Wilbur, the man we were going to stay with. We began to think that maybe Lymington was not all that big.
About four years ago, Dee and Wilbur, parents of an English friend of our son Joel, had come to stay with us on their 28 month journey around the world. We had enjoyed their visit and it had been pivotal in us thinking that travelling for an extended period of time was a good idea and, more importantly, that you could travel on a small budget. So we were absolutely thrilled to see them again and to see their part of the world. Lymington on Sea is just opposite the Isle of Wight on the South Coast of England, and is a charming old town with modern shops and a thriving marina and port.Dee met the train and we were introduced to her darling dog, Daisy, who was such a well behaved and loveable creature that I almost turned into a ‘dog’ person. We drove out of Lymington and down the country lanes that led to their home in Sway, a village on the edge of the New Forest. Not terribly ‘new’ now, the forest was reserved for the monarch over a thousand years ago, and was the home of the Royal deer and many a hunting party. Now it is a protected area and people can run animals in it so there are horses, donkeys, pigs in acorn season and cattle, along with the native badgers, hedgehogs and the many varieties of deer. A converted barn, the house is a gem, with a pretty and productive garden and farm land and the forest all around. We had to clamber over some scaffolding to get in since the chimney was being fixed to stop rain coming in.
Dinner was delicious and went forever as we caught up on our families and our travels so it was pretty late when we climbed up the stairs to bed. More daring than us, they had got rid of all their furniture when they left for their trip and have gradually collected things since they returned.
The transparent rubbish bag is normal in public places in western Europe now. We were told that this is a security tactic so that it would be harder for someone to leave a bomb in one.
This church spire has both a twist and a lean. We caught only a glimpse of it on the train from Barnsley to London. We were told that it has partially collapsed, but is still apparently safe.
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