We slept a little better than the night before but not as well as we’d have liked. The effects of whatever bug we’ve caught are still with us, but there are places to see so there was no time for lingering. We got downstairs to breakfast at about 10:00 am, not early but not too late either!

Breakfast.
Breakfast.
Breakfast.
Breakfast.
Breakfast.
Breakfast.
Breakfast.
Breakfast.
Breakfast.
Breakfast.

Over breakfast we contemplated our options for the day. We are checking out of the Royal Crescent Hotel today and heading to New Milton, further south, where we’ll be spending the next two nights. We debated whether to spend the day in Bath or whether to venture on. We decided that, since we’d seen Bath years ago, we’d get on the road.

We left the hotel around midday and headed south on the A36. A bit over an hour down the road we saw the spire of the Salisbury Cathedral, so we decided to take a detour into Salisbury. We parked the car and hopped out for a walk around the city. We headed in the general direction of the cathedral, stopping to look in some of the quaint shops along the way.

We decided that it would be worth looking at the cathedral in more detail, so we purchased some tickets and went inside. The main body of the Salisbury Cathedral was completed in the middle of the 13th century, and the spire (the tallest church spire in the United Kingdom since 1561) was added early in the 14th century. The cathedral is considered one of the best examples of early English Gothic architecture.

The Salisbury Cathedral.
The Salisbury Cathedral.
The Salisbury Cathedral.
The Salisbury Cathedral.
The Salisbury Cathedral.
The Salisbury Cathedral.
The Salisbury Cathedral.
The Salisbury Cathedral.
The Salisbury Cathedral.
The Salisbury Cathedral.
The Salisbury Cathedral.
The Salisbury Cathedral.

Inside the Salisbury Cathedral, in the chapter house, is the best-preserved of the four surviving original copies of the Magna Carta, the royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215.

Magna Carta.
Magna Carta.

After leaving the cathedral, we walked back through the pretty streets of the old city, before heading back to the car to continue our journey south to New Milton.

Keith in Salisbury.
Keith in Salisbury.

We arrived at Chewton Glen, our hotel in New Milton, around 5:00 pm. Chewton Glen is a magnificent property of 120 hectares, located on the edge of the New Forest National Park on the south coast of England.

The main residence at Chewton Glen.
The main residence at Chewton Glen.

We checked in and headed up to our room to relax before dinner.

Our room at Chewton Glen.
Our room at Chewton Glen.
Our room at Chewton Glen.
Our room at Chewton Glen.
Our room at Chewton Glen.
Our room at Chewton Glen.
Our room at Chewton Glen.
Our room at Chewton Glen.
The balcony in our room at Chewton Glen.
The balcony in our room at Chewton Glen.
Welcome drinks and treats in our room at Chewton Glen.
Welcome drinks and treats in our room at Chewton Glen.

At about 6:30 pm, we hopped into one of the hotel’s carts to be driven to dinner at one of the restaurants on the property, The Kitchen by James Martin.

Andrea, ready to hop into the cart to head to dinner.
Andrea, ready to hop into the cart to head to dinner.
Puffed pork rinds.
Puffed pork rinds.
Gin and tonic battered tiger prawns.
Gin and tonic battered tiger prawns.
10 oz Rare Breed pork chop with Marmite-buttered Hispi cabbage, Visy Chantenay carrots, mashed potato, Café de Paris butter, red wine jus, and apple sauce.
10 oz Rare Breed pork chop with Marmite-buttered Hispi cabbage, Visy Chantenay carrots, mashed potato, Café de Paris butter, red wine jus, and apple sauce.
Conchiglie with field mushrooms, rainbow chard, pine nuts, and goat's cheese.
Conchiglie with field mushrooms, rainbow chard, pine nuts, and goat's cheese.

We enjoyed a beautiful meal but the main courses were sufficiently filling that we decided against having dessert and agreed that we should walk back to our room, rather than take the cart. On the way back, we poked our head into the hotel’s vegetable garden.

The Chewton Glen vegetable garden.
The Chewton Glen vegetable garden.

We got back into our room around 8:30 pm and spent the rest of the evening relaxing. Tomorrow, we have nothing in particular planned, so we’ll see how we feel when we get up and plan from there.