Not long after going on my belated birthday road trip it was my birthday again, and this time I was taken on a wonderful (apart from the weather!) mini break to Hampshire.

I knew that I was going somewhere, but had no idea of the destination, and in fact my daughter kept me guessing by leading me on a circuitous London Underground route, before we eventually emerged at Waterloo. I avoided looking at the train destination boards, even though looking at boards and thinking about all the places I could go to is one of my favourite things to do at any train station, so it wasn’t until we boarded and the guard made his announcement that I had any inkling of where we were heading.

We changed trains at Brockenhurst, alighted at Lymington Town to drop off our bags at our Airbnb, and then got back on the next train for the 5 minute journey to Lymington Pier, at which point I quickly guessed that we were heading to the Isle of Wight for a day trip. How exciting! The station is right by the ferry terminal, and we were able to buy our tickets there and then. Despite very blustery conditions, we braved it out on deck, waiting patiently while numerous rowers cleared the shipping lane before we could depart, and then watching Yarmouth slowly sliding into view.

It looked very pretty with a pier and a castle and waterfront pubs and cafes,

but we hopped straight onto the Needles Breezer open top bus, which was parked up outside, and headed across the island to Freshwater Bay. It was really lovely – although very cold and windy – but despite this, we sat on a bench to eat our picnic lunch. It was chilly enough with a coat on, and I certainly didn’t envy the hardy swimmers who were taking to the water!

We were joined on the wall next to us by a raven. I have never seen a raven outside of the Tower of London before, and so was initially a little confused by this huge bird that was clearly much too big to be either a crow or a rook. Turns out that the Isle of Wight has a population of ravens, and so I was pleased that we spotted one.

From there we climbed up the path on to the cliff top to follow the Tennyson Trail, named after Alfred Lord Tennyson who lived near Freshwater Bay for almost 40 years.

Here’s the view looking back to Freshwater Bay as we stopped to take a breather.

The walk was very bracing (apparently Tennyson once said that ‘the air is worth sixpence a pint’ so we certainly got our money’s worth!) and involved some steep uphill climbs, but it was definitely one of the very best coastal walks that I have ever done. The views out to sea on our left as we followed the cliff path, as well as further away across the Solent to our right, were absolutely stunning, and we were constantly stopping to admire them.

The Tennyson memorial, at the highest point of the cliff, offered a good place to sit and have a rest

before we continued to The Needles. We were so busy chatting that we missed the sign for a turn off to a viewing point, but decided that we wouldn’t re-trace our steps as we would be bound to get a great view from further on. Unfortunately, further on at the end of the headland was the Old Battery, owned by The National Trust and with a £9 admission fee. Neither of us were interested enough in Victorian coastal defence forts to justify getting closer to the iconic chalk stacks, so we ended up having to re-trace just a little bit after all, in order to get our photo opportunity.

We could have caught the bus back from the Old Battery, but when I see a Coastal Path sign I have a compulsion to keep walking. And there were the colourful cliffs of Alum Bay just ahead. I really wanted to carry on for just a little bit more, even though I had been experiencing increasing knee pain over the course of the day.

To be honest, it wasn’t too much further, and the colours of those cliffs made it worth it. Apparently there are 21 different shades, but my phone camera doesn’t really do them justice. There’s a chair lift at the top of the cliffs that carries people down to the beach, from where pleasure boats were plying their trade and sailing around the Needles themselves for the ultimate photo.

Alum Bay itself consisted of an assortment of ‘visitor attractions’ which didn’t really appeal, so after admiring the view from another viewing platform, we left on the next bus. There is a regular bus service from here back to Yarmouth, but as it actually was my birthday that day, we recklessly paid double the price to return on the Needles Breezer tourist bus, sitting on the open top deck and listening to the commentary.

I was keen that we should make time for birthday cake, so we stopped at Gossips Cafe, right next to the pier. Birthday luck was on my side and we were able to secure a just vacated table in the window – perfect! The cake selection was limited however, and we ended up sharing a scone. This is my sweet treat of choice when near a tea room so it wasn’t too much of a disappointment, although I had been hoping for a slice of something to be more birthday-ish

The wooden pier at Yarmouth is the longest timber pier open to the public in the country, and, as I have previously mentioned my love of a pier, we obviously had to have a walk along to the end.

We only had time for a very quick exploration of the town itself as I was flagging (and limping!) and couldn’t have coped with waiting for a later ferry, but the bits we saw were lovely. Interestingly, Yarmouth is the second smallest town in Great Britain. The smallest town is Fordwich which is just outside Canterbury, so we have been to both of them! Not surprisingly, I am now rather taken by the idea of walking around the coast of the Isle of Wight which at 70 miles, would be achievable in a weeks holiday if/when I am ever back up to speed.

With a long wait in the cold for a train at Lymington Pier, it was getting quite late by the time we finally arrived back in the town itself, and I felt I was too exhausted to properly enjoy a meal out. Instead we stopped off at the fish and chip shop (battered halloumi for me), picked up a bottle of prosecco at Tesco, and returned to our Airbnb for my birthday dinner.

The forecast for the next day was looking extremely wet, so we got up early to explore before the rain set in. The area around the quay was absolutely beautiful, and the winding cobbled street leading down to the water was like something from a film set. (My daughter was particularly taken with the antique clock shop, and I dread to think what we might have had to transport home on the train if it had been open during our stay!)

A mix of Georgian cottages and independent shops, it was quintessentially English.

We’d intended popping into Tesco to pick up something for our breakfast, but luckily we came across a lovely independent bakery first (Hoxton Bakehouse), with an incredibly tempting display of bread and pastries. It was hard to know what to choose, but in the end I went for a pain au chocolat, with the most amazing lamination I have ever seen. (Thank you Bake Off for the viennoiserie knowledge!) Boots had just opened and I was able to buy a knee support bandage, and we got back just as the rain arrived, so followed our cosy breakfast with some reading time.

We figured that the only thing to do on a rainy Sunday was to properly explore the shops that were open, and so at mid morning, we set forth once again, up the steeply sloping Georgian High Street. At home, I only tend to go shopping when I actually need something, and so it makes a nice change to have a browse. Lymington did have some very good shops – a mix of independent cafes, boutiques and gift/homeware shops, along with chains like White Stuff and Seasalt, as well as a healthy sprinkle of charity shops – and I was like a child in a sweet shop, wanting to buy so many things! Mindful of the fact that we had planned a New Forest Walk for the following day after check out, and that I would have to carry EVERYTHING with me, I had to try and be sensible, although the temptation to clip a distressed metal Christmas jug (because it would look so lovely with a display of holly in it) to my rucksack was very strong!

We had respite from the rain with a delicious roast dinner at The Ship Inn, which is right on the quayside. A roast is my very favourite meal, and I cook a good one so am quite discerning. My issue with going out for a roast is that they often give you far too many potatoes and not enough vegetables, but the vegetable game at The Ship was strong. As well as carrots, parsnips and tenderstem broccoli, there was also a dish of very tasty greens (kale, leek and peas) – and we did also splash out on some cauliflower cheese. I was very impressed and would thoroughly recommend it.

The weather forecast was supposed to be dry from about 4pm, so we were hoping that after I had had my afternoon nap we would be able to go for a walk along the Solent. Unfortunately at 4 it seemed to be raining harder than ever, and it carried on until it got dark. Neither of us could face going out and getting wet again, so we ended up spending the rest of the afternoon and evening inside.

This also coincided with my daughter discovering that the extra surprise she had planned for me – a visit to Jane Austen’s house in Chawton on our way home on Tuesday (following a night in Winchester) was not going to be happening. At the time she made the plan and the hotel booking, the website for Jane Austen’s house was displaying the summer opening hours. At the start of October they had switched to their winter opening hours and were now closed on Mondays and Tuesdays – except during half term week, only their half term week was the following week, and not the same one that we had in Kent! Also, it became clear that it was going to rain heavily again the following day when we were supposed to be doing our New Forest walk.

I have wanted to visit Jane Austen’s house for so long, and to go this year which is the 250th anniversary of her birth and with special exhibitions to commemorate it, would have been very special – but to be honest, I felt more miserable at the prospect of another rainy day than I was about the disappointment of the house being closed. It was enough to know that my daughter had thought of it, and I felt sorry that she was so upset and frustrated by the plan not coming to fruition. By the end of the evening however, we had come up with a new itinerary for our final two days and all was good.

So, the next morning, after more Hoxton Bakehouse breakfast pastries, and as I no longer needed to worry about carting everything around the New Forest, we headed back to the High Street for a little retail therapy. Thus, the holly jug was purchased, along with a festive water bottle, a charity shop dress and some flapjack from a very nice flapjack shop! So many flavours to choose from, but we limited ourselves to just two!

We were already wet and bedraggled before we boarded the train to Winchester, and on arrival stopped off for a cheap lunch and a brief respite from the rain at Spoons, before continuing on to the Mercure hotel which was right next to the cathedral. We were intending to just drop off our bags but our room was ready, so we were able to change our clothes and, in my case, have a nap before heading out again.

We walked through the cathedral precincts, where the cabins for the Christmas market were already being set up, passed the newly unveiled Jane Austen statue (Jane died in Winchester and is buried in the cathedral),

and entered the picturesque inner cloisters.

After passing through the Priory Gate, we explored the Kingsgate area, with some more very tempting independent shops,

including a book shop that claims to be ‘probably the oldest in the country’, trading on the same site since 1729. Its other claim to fame is that it is where Jane Austen bought her books while living in Winchester!

In fact, the house where Jane spent her final days is just a few doors down the road.

From here, we followed the Keats Walk through the water meadows to the Church of St Cross. Keats stayed in Winchester in the summer and early autumn of 1819, and not only did he enjoy a daily stroll along this route, but he was so inspired by its beauty that he penned his Ode to Autumn (Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness etc.) after one of these walks – the perfect time of year to retrace his steps!

It was petty easy walking, mostly along tarmac or gravelled paths, although we did encounter one very boggy grassy section that we had to carefully pick our way through. The leaves were looking beautiful

and there were lots of autumnal fungi.

We had thoughts of extending our walk to St Catherine’s Hill, from where there are apparently great views over the city, but that will have to wait until another day, as the rain was getting heavier again and we had had enough of being wet.

During the summer, the Hospital of St Cross has a cafe in the same medieval hall where up to 100 poor men used to be fed daily, which would also have given us some very welcome shelter, but sadly that had also just closed for the season.

Instead we retraced our steps and arrived back at the cathedral in time for evensong – a means of allowing a glimpse of the interior for free (normal entry is £14), as well as the opportunity to listen to some choral music. I also got to see the Jane Austen memorial plaque and tomb as we passed through to the Quire, which was an unexpected benefit.

On our final day, we checked out, left our bags at reception, and caught the train back to Brockenhurst to enjoy an unencumbered New Forest walk. It was a real highlight – wonderfully autumnal – and to be honest, as much as I would have liked to have gone to Chawton, I wouldn’t have wanted to have missed it. It’s just a shame that weather and opening hours prevented us from doing both.

We followed a 5 mile circular route, which conveniently began from the train station so there was no messing about trying to get to the start point. It took us through the heart of the village, with a thriving high street, across the watersplash (a ford which, despite all the recent rain, was a mere trickle!) and before we knew it we were heading out across open grassland with lots of ponies all around. The New Forest is synonymous with ponies, but for some reason, I wasn’t expecting to see quite so many!

The clear gravel track was easy to follow

and we soon found ourselves passing from grassland into the forest itself, where there were plenty of coloured marker posts to keep you on the correct trail.

At this time of year, pigs are released into the New Forest to feast on acorns, chestnuts and beech mast, which are harmless to pigs but toxic to horses and cows. It’s known as pannage and is a custom that dates back to the time of William the Conqueror. Pigs are my favourite animal, and although I knew that realistically we were unlikely to spot any as they roam freely over a very wide area, I did keep a careful look out. I would have loved to have seen some rootling about for acorns. I would have settled for hearing for some snuffling in the undergrowth. But sadly there were none in evidence in the part of the forest that we passed through. (But here’s a handsome Hampshire Hog that I spotted in Winchester!)

The forest was so beautiful and we followed Ober Water, a stream that runs through the forest, before finding a conveniently placed bench where we sat and contemplated our surroundings, listening to the leaves rustling and the birds singing. It was a perfect moment and I didn’t want to leave.

I am never so relaxed and happy as I am when I’m out on a walk, even though I invariably suffer the consequences after, and it is the one thing that I struggle to deal with when I am in the midst of a fatigue relapse and can barely leave the house. Just the sight of a footpath sign fills me with joy, as well as the curiosity to see where it goes, and the signs and trail markers that we saw while we were out really made me want to branch off, extend our walk and explore the area more. I am getting better at knowing my limitations however, and five miles is as much as I can cope with at the moment, and I know that I have to be patient if I am going to be able to gradually increase this.

The remainder of the walk took us across heathland, which gave us some variety, passing some pretty cottages as we headed closer to Brockenhust. Back in the village, we headed to Esme’s tea rooms in a delightful thatched cottage. We were lucky to get a table as it was so busy, even though it was only a random Tuesday,

and as our trip finale we enjoyed an afternoon tea which arrived attractively presented in a wicker basket.

It was the perfect end to a perfect day. I might not have made it to Jane Austen’s house, but I wouldn’t have swapped it, and a trip to Chawton will still be waiting for another day!