Mick Paskins Blog

2026 Westward

2026 Westward

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  • 1. 2nd Jul
    A motorhome meetup at Strawberry Field, near Lyndhurst. Left Brighton at 2.30, much earlier than planned, and just as well. First stop LPG just outside Brighton, second stop B &Q in Worthing, Sue wanted a gazebo for protection from the threatening heatwave. No gazebo, they have sold out. At least I was able to go to Sainsburys, and stock up on the all important wine, taking advantage of 25% off 6 bottles.
    Next stop Sainsburys in Chichester, according to Google, they have gazebo in stock. And so they did. Gazebo gotten, a job for tomorrow, along with trying to fix the non working piezoelectric hob igniter, which appears to have given up the ghost. And install the carbon monoxide alarm, which we have been meaning to get for the last twenty years.
    Traffic was awful, road works frequent, but finally arrived to a warm welcome and a warm evening. The venison burgers selected for tea tonight turned out to be Knepp sausages. Not what was expected, but thoroughly enjoyed nontheless.
  • 5. 6th Jul
    After a surprisingly chilly and overcast start, clouds cleared, and the sun blazed down, very hot.
    We decided to visit Lyndhurst, a simple bus journey away. We were both disappointed, the only interesting shop was the butchers, and that is closed on Mondays. Spent quite a bit of time in the New Forest Visitor Centre.
    The New Forest was created by William the Conqueror in about 1072 (thats why it is new), and on the way to Lyndhurst, we went through New Green. I wonder which came first, the green or the forest……..
    Had an OK lunch, and returned.
    Leaving tomorrow, and I’m pleased to be going, not least because the absence of an internet signal is very frustrating.
  • 4. 5th Jul
    Car boot sale in the adjoining field, so trudged round on another hot sunny day, which threatened to get sweltering, but fortunately didn’t.
    The car boot sale was seried rows of tat, after yesterdays Lymington market, we were wondering if the whole of the New Forest was awash with tat. We had nearly wandered round all of it, Sue said shall we go back, and I pointed out there was not much left, we might as well finish. And, we then found four glass demijohns for four pounds, so it was all worthwhile in the end.
    Lazy afternoon, and we are hoping our fellow campervanners are not going to watch the 5.00am England world cup match, or if they do, they do it quietly. Little hope, I expect, of that.
  • 2. 3rd Jul.

    Gazebo up!
    Sue, concerned about weight, because we maybe possibly definitely are overweight, bought the lightest gazebo she could find. Which means it is the crappiest cheapest gazebo. Involved many retries, interpreting inadequate pictorial instructions.

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    How exciting…….

  • 3. 4th Jul
    Gazebo survived the night, surprisingly.
    Given a lift into Lymington, and its Saturday market. Bit of a tat market, didn’t buy anything, but a walk down to the harbour was pleasant on a hot sunny day, and an ice cream was much appreciated by me. Sue isn’t keen on ice cream. Unaccountable.
    BBQ this evening, which we hadn’t realised, and hadn’t planned for, so we were relived to find a Waitrose, well stocked with Dutchy Organic burgers. Went down well!
    Returning from Lymington, in rather gusty conditions, the gazebo was teetering on going walkabouts, so we took it down. The ground pegs are woefully inadequate, most now misshapen, and the ground is absolutely solid. Decent pegs and guy ropes, and it will hopefully be useful.
  • 6. 7th Jul

    Hotter and hotter. We’ve been campaigning against climate change for somewhere over 30 years, and I have frequently said, you won’t like it. Well, I don’t like it, and I think it has only just started, and is accelerating at a frightening pace. But thats OK, we can all fly to colder climes for our holidays, and put air conditioning in our homes, then everything will be fine.
    We went to Highcliffe House, an interesting looking house yards from a cliff overlooking the sea.

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    What we didn’t realise was that it is a complete wreck, having suffered one severe fire, then a subsequent catastrophic fire. Then left derelict for around 30 years, and suffered a roof collapse in a storm in the 1990’s.
    Now in the ownership of Christchurch Council, the outside restored, and re roofed, so it is structurally sound.
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    But still a bit raw inside.

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    But a lot of interesting display boards.

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    The window of Jesse, bright and colourful.

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    Another view.

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    Looking the other way, the great hall.

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    Finally, a very light and airy room, used for weddings, hence all the chairs.

    Not at aii what we expected, but a visit we both enjoyed.
    Lunch at the cafe, sitting under some grand old trees, giving plenty of shade. I resisted the not very inviting looking ice cream.
    With an afternoon to spare, we decided to see if we could get some substantial pegs for the gazebo. No nearby camping shops, Sue suggested a caravan dealers, as caravans always have awnings. And, there was a dealer nearby, Marquis Caravans, so off we went.
    They didn’t have any pegs, so we bought a new motorhome instead, then went to a nearby Halfords, and bought some substantial pegs.
    We havn’t actually committed to the campervan yet, but I think there is a good chance we will. Smaller than the current one, a lot less wide, a just about short enough to fit in a car parking space.

  • 7. 8th Jul

    Another scorcher of a day. A short drive into Christchurch, and a short walk up to the impressive 900 year old priory.

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    And this is the Jesse tree.

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    Close up figure at the bottom, ?Jesse.

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  • 8. Cont’d

    And then, in the gathering heat, a walk to Christchurch Castle, and Norman House.

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    The castle, rather less of it than our own castle at Stenning.

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    And, the Norman House.

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    The Elizabethan’s improved on the chimney design!

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    After that, decided to drive to Mudeford to have a look. On the way, as the day just continued getting hotter, we repaired to a Waitrose cafe, comfortably air conditioned, to compare motorhomes with our possibly new one. Encountered slow internet speed, frustrating websites, and gave up inconclusively.
    On the way to the priory, down a very narrow lane, we encountered a huge articulated lorry coming the other way. Cars backing up behind both him and us. Eventually persuaded cars to back away, and in reversing into a marginally wider bit of road, I hit a rock or post or something. Damaged the very frail back corner.
    By the time we eventually reached Mudeford, we decided to give up on the day, and returned to our CL.

  • 9. Athelhampton House
    Athelhampton House

    Just outside Dorchester, and how enjoyable we found it.

    The outside. Much bigger than this looks, and very rambling.

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    Built in 1485, this is the original front door.

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    Inside rooms.

    A half hammerbeam roof in the great hall.

     

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    Library / billiard room, and a wonderful ceiling.

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    Another impressive ceiling.

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    The largest fireplace in Dorset.

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    A bit more modern, pure copper.

     

    Interesting gargoyle over the entrance door.

     

     

    Afterwards, drove into Dorchester, did washing, filled up LPG ( with much difficulty, manoeuvring close to pump the right way round, and needed assistance to make it work).

    Thence onwards to Burton Bradstock.

    Gazebo supported by substantial ground pegs

     

  • 10th Jul
    A pleasantly nothing day, mostly spent talking to people, very enjoyable and inconsequential. Intended to walk into Burton Bradstock, but never got round to it. Maybe tomorrow!
  • 11th Jul

    We decided to walk to Hive Beach Cafe, on a hot sunny day. Unfortunately, the rest of Dorset had the same idea.

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    We gave up. Sue’s arthritic hip was playing up badly, so I went back to retrieve the motorhome and save her hobbling back.
    After investigating a brewery in Bridport (next tour on Monday), we returned to our spot next to the gazebo.
    A hot and slow afternoon, then to The Three Horseshoes pub for a meal. The starters were excellent, the mains much less so. A pity.
    Now back into the motorhome, surrounded by multiple screens, the world cup match which is likely to go on to at least midnight.
    Warning of strong winds tonight – don’t feel much like taking the gazebo down, so will see if its still there tomorrow.

  • 12th July

    Gazebo survived the night, and, despite being surrounded by outside TV screens, I slept blissfully unaware of any noise.

    Spent the day sitting around talking, which culminated in playing an entertainingly silly game of cards called “Splodge”. I had more splodges than anyone else. Drat! That meant I lost.

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