After a better (but still not brilliant) night’s sleep, we got up around 9:00 am this morning. We got downstairs just before 10:00 am to formulate a plan for the day over breakfast.

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

We took our time over breakfast and didn’t get back up to our room until after 11:00 am. We opened the doors to our verandah and let in the beautiful day.

The view from our verandah over the pool.
The view from our verandah over the pool.

We set off around lunchtime, with our first stop being a beautiful little port town called Lymington, on the west bank of the Lymington River on the Solent (the strait between the English mainland and the Isle of Wight). We had been told about a bakery called the Cornish Bakery that specialises in Cornish pasties, so we thought we should start there!

Inside the Cornish Bakery.
Inside the Cornish Bakery.
Pastie for lunch!
Pastie for lunch!

After enjoying our delicious Cornish pasties, we spent a few hours walking around the very pretty streets of Lymington.

Keith in Lymington.
Keith in Lymington.
Lymington.
Lymington.
Lymington.
Lymington.

By late afternoon we decided to move on, and we headed for the coastal resort town of Bournemouth. It was pretty quiet (and cold!) in Bournemouth, but we could imagine it being very busy in the summer.

Bournemouth Pier.
Bournemouth Pier.
Bournemouth Beach.
Bournemouth Beach.
Andrea on Bournemouth Pier.
Andrea on Bournemouth Pier.
Looking west down Bournemouth Beach from the pier.
Looking west down Bournemouth Beach from the pier.

Next, we debated what to do about dinner. We decided to head back to The Kitchen at Chewton Glen, since the meal we had there last night was very good and we wanted to sample some of the desserts. On the way back, we stopped at Highcliffe Castle, described as “the most important remaining example of the Romantic and Picturesque style of architecture.” We had a very pleasant walk around the castle and down to the lookout point over the beach, with a nice view out to the Isle of Wight.

Andrea at Highcliffe Castle.
Andrea at Highcliffe Castle.
Highcliffe Castle.
Highcliffe Castle.
Highcliffe Castle.
Highcliffe Castle.
Highcliffe Castle.
Highcliffe Castle.
Highcliffe Castle.
Highcliffe Castle.
Highcliffe Castle.
Highcliffe Castle.

By the time we finished walking around Highcliffe Castle, it was nearly 7:30 pm. We hopped back into the car and drove the short distance back to Chewton Glen for dinner at The Kitchen.

Puffed pork rinds.
Puffed pork rinds.
Smoked ham pizza.
Smoked ham pizza.
Seasonal spring greens.
Seasonal spring greens.
Hot chocolate fondant.
Hot chocolate fondant.
Knickerbocker Glory.
Knickerbocker Glory.

After a very nice dinner, we got back into the car and drove up the driveway to the main house.

Sculpture in the driveway at Chewton Glen.
Sculpture in the driveway at Chewton Glen.
The main house at Chewton Glen.
The main house at Chewton Glen.

It was about 9:30 pm when we got back to our room. After a nice day of exploring around the south of England, we’re looking forward to a relatively early night. We’ll be checking out tomorrow and heading north for a two-night stay at the Hotel Hampshire, just outside Dogmersfield.