Karim

Karim

Good morning dear Friends

I hope that you are all very well.

We left Marlow for the South Coast on yet another glorious morning during an unusual two weeks and a half spell of clear blue sky & bright sunshine over England in April .

Both New Forest, Lyndhurst & Lymington were new to me and let's just say that we were in for a real treat !

Needless to say that Spring was in full swing with cheerful Daffodils on the side of the road, gorgeous Magnolias and Spring blossoms everywhere.

As we were getting close to our destination, it was rather obvious that were heading South as the vegetation changed to Pine Trees and lots of Gorse in bright yellow blooms along the way.

Lyndhurst is located in the heart of the New Forest National Park in the county of Hampshire near Southampton.

New Forest dates back almost a thousand years when William the Conqueror took ownership of the area as his own hunting forest He enforced a forest law, preventing local communities from using the forest to graze their livestock, hunt and forage for food or even build fences, as these activities would interfere with William's hunting pursuits.

After the death of William, and his successor Rufus, the rights of the common people were eventually restored in the 1217 Charter of the Forest. A special Verderers' Court was set up to enforce the laws of the Charter and protect these rights.

Many of these common rights survive today in the New Forest and are still protected by law.

Lyndhurst became the capital of New Forest when William the Conqueror designated the area as his "Nova Foresta" or royal hunting ground and was granted the title of royal manor by the Abbey of Amesbury in Wiltshire.

Later Kings & Queens regularly visited Lyndhurst staying at the royal manor, now know as the Queen's House which is now the headquarters of the Forestry Commission.

The Verderers' Court adajacent to Queen's House is a remnant of Norman times with the name "Verderer" derived from the French word "vert" meaning green, as they were the official keepers of the green.

Lyndhurst popular High St is a beautiful mix of 17th and 18th century buildings alongside Victorian & Edwardian additions the wealthy visitors of the time.

Its prominent gothic church, St Michael & All Angels, sits at the top of the High St was built in the mid-nineteen century.

St Michael & All Angels is the final resting place of Alice Pleasance Liddell who inspired Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland". The famous author who's real name was Charles Dodgson was a close family friend and entertained young Alice and her sisters with his fantastic made up stories on a boat outing that later became the most popular children's books in England.The author gave Alice the original manuscript of "Alice in Wonderland" and was celebrated as the inspiration to the famous character on both sides of the Atlantic until her passing.

I started my visit of the historic town by stopping at the very interesting New Forest Heritage Information Centre that provides a lovely selection of maps & books of the area as well a Artisan made local products.

I could not but smile the cheerful sign to the Mad Hatter's Tea Room on my way to the church !

I stopped by the elegant The Crown Manor House located opposite the chuch and dating back to the 15th century and later became a popular coaching in known originally as the Kings Arms Inn and later the Crown Hotel at the end of the 17th century.

I enjoyed a refreshing glass of Pinot Grigio in its beautiful landscaped gardens.

I later stopped by the cute Bake House 24 Artisan Bakery specialises in traditional sourdough methods to produce breads, pastries & cakes. I purchased a delicious "breakfast style croissant" with egg & bacon as well as chocolate brownie that I enjoyed with a refreshing pint of Guinness in the beer garden of the The Stag Pub.

The Stag Hotel & Pub located on High St was built in 1907 on the site of an old coaching in and is known for its striking red bricks architecture. Its lovely beer garden features a very original bird cage with exotic birds including a very cute & photogenic couple of blue parrots.

I have really enjoyed my visit to beautiful Lyndhurst in New Forest !

Wishing you a lovely day !

Karim

Karim

Karim

Karim

Karim

Karim

Good afternoon dear Friends

I wish you all a very happy Easter week-end !

After spending our morning discovering the pretty historic town of Lyndhurst, we hit the road again for a 20 mins journey south to the picture perfect town of Lymington.

Lymington is a port town located on the west bank of the Lymington River on the Solent in the New Forest. The town faces Yarmouth, Ilse of Wight.

Lymington, first recorded as "Lentune" in the Domesday Book, emerged as a village and later a thriving market town.

From the Middle Ages, Lymington was renowned for its salt making industry with salt spans developped by the Normans and later in the 19th century, it became a significant ship building center with Lymington-built vessels participating in the 1851 America's Cup. The wealth generated by these industries is reflected in the Georgian's architecture of Lymington High St.

The town's maritime location also led to a reputation for smuggling with smugglers using the busy port to bring illegal cargoes.

Today, Lymington is a popular coastal town known for its picturesque harbour, yachting and its location on the southern edge of the New Forest.

After a lovely stroll along the pretty High St with its great variety of boutiques, coffee shops, bars & restaurants with the beautiful 600 years old St Thomas the Apostle Church, I walked down the cobbled street of the picture perfect harbour overlooking the Solent and the Isle of Wight with its pretty medieval buildlings where it is easy to imagine the laughter and conversations of the smugglers of the time.

The views over the harbour & marina is enchanting with a refreshing see breeze on this beautiful sunny day in April with the busy seagulls and an unexpected couple of gracious swans enjoying themselves in front of the Ship Inn Pub.

The beautiful Ship Inn Pub is where I enjoyed a cappuccino with a delicious made to order baked apple tart with vanilla ice cream on the deck terrace enjoying the view with a fishing boat coming into the port to deliver its catch of the day

One the highlights of our day was driving through the heath & moorland scenic route filled with beautiful ponies & horses grazing happily amongst Gorse in bright yellow blooms - a nutritious food source for ponies. A truly unforgettable sight of the beautiful New Forest National Park.

All the horses, ponies, donkeys, cows & pigs roaming in the New Forest belong to local people called "commoners" who have the right to graze their animals on the open Forest throughout the year. The New Forest is really one big farm and these are "farm animals".

Wishing you a lovely day

Karim

Karim

Good afternoon dear Friends

I hope that you are very well and enjoying the glorious Spring here in the UK and beyond.

We left Marlow on the final day of an exceptional and rather unusual 3 weeks spell of clear blue sky and bright sunshine in April in England for the beautiful City of Bath with an expected 23o celcius mid afternoon

The recollection of my first visit years ago of this famous city part of the Unesco World Heritage that attracts 6 million tourists each year is a colourful mix of the Royal Crescent seen from the Victoria Park filled with daffodils, the cutest Miniatures shop ever located on the Pulteney Bridge, Sally' Lunns famous buns, the fashionable Beau Nash and the ankles of young Princess Victoria.

Located in the valley of the River Avon in the county of Somerset, Bath was founded by the Romans as a thermal spa when its natural hot springs became the 2nd largest Spa outside Rome know to the Romans as "Aquae Sulis" or the Waters of Sulis. The baths were not just for bathing. They were a social hub where people would meet, chat, eat and even conduct business. The Romans believed that the hot springs had healing properties and the baths were a place to seek both physical and spiritual well-being. Today's Roman Baths water quality is not safe for swimming or drinking as the water is not treated. The water reaches the baths at a temperature of 46o celcius and it contains high level of minerals including sulphur hence its distinctive smell.

Bath's royal connections date back to the Anglo Saxons with King Edgar's coronation in Bath Abbey in 973.

Bath later became an an important centre of the wool industry in the Middle Ages.

In 1680, Solange Luyon a young Huguenot fled France in fear to escape the Catholic Church hunt for heretic Protestants and survived the perilous crossing of the Channel for the safety and warm welcome of England. She soon settled in Bath and found work in a bakery selling the baker's breads from a basket in the lanes around Bath Abbey. Struggling with her French name, the locals quickly renamed her Sally Lunn. Sally who missed her homeland began baking a brioche like Festival bread that became a sensation in Georgian England and customers began making special trips to visit the Liliput Alley Bakery just to try the Sally Lunn Bun. The bakery is still famous nowadays and located in Bath's oldest house ( 1480 ).

In the 18th century, under King George III, the city developed into an elegant town with neo classical Palladian buildings built with the local honey coloured stone such as the Royal Crescent, the Circus of the Assembly Rooms designed by the most talented architects of the time, John Wood the Elder & Younger.

No one embodies fashionable Bath like the Beau Nash, a celebrated dandy, leader of fashion in the 18th century and Master of Ceremony in Bath from 1704 to his death in 1761. Beau was notoriously naughty with a string of mistresses and a gambling habit that left him in significant debt. He lived near what is now the Theatre Royal but his money troubles forced him to move in with his mistress Juliana Papjoy. He was highly influential in Bath and played an important role breaking the rigid social barriers between the nobility and the middle-classes.

One of Bath's most famous residents, Jane Austen, lived in the city for 5 years. When her Father retired as rector from Steventon in 1800, Jane moved to Bath and found lodgings at 4 Sydney Place opposite Sydney Gardens. Jane attended glamorous society events such as galas and fireworks displays as well as balls and tea dances at the Assembly Rooms. The City inspired her two of her 6 celebrated novels, Northanger Abbey & Persuasion.

One of my favourite anecdotes about Bath is the one referring to the young Princess Victoria who visited the town when she was 11 years old and was informed of the disparaging comment of a resident on the "thickness of her ankles" resulting in the future Queen to shun the city for the rest of her reign. She never returned to Bath and as the Royal Train was once approaching the City, she ordered the speed of the locomotive to be increased and all the curtains of the carriages to be drawn so that herself and her suite never have to see this "horrid" City ever again ! Needless to say that her Majesty wasn't amused !

I started my visit of Bath with the beautiful Parade Gardens overlooking the River Avon, then to the imposing Bath Abbey with its live street musicians, the Roman Baths, the picturesque lanes & squares filled with cafes, restaurants & boutiques buzzing with tourists enjoying the glorious weather.

And then onto the famous Pulteney Bridge, beautiful example of Georgian architecture and one of only four bridges in the world to have shops across its full span on both sides dating from 1774 when it connected the City with the land of the Pulteney family. The Pulteney Bridge dominates the River Avon and the Pulteney Weir with its cascading waters built in the late Middle Ages to prevent the river from flooding the town. There are many lovely boutiques, cafes & even a Florist located on the Pulteney Bridge !

I will articulate my visit to Bath in three parts starting from the Parade Gardens to the Abbey & Roman Baths and the Pulteney Bridge, then a second part with my cruise on the River Avon and finally a third part with my afternoon tea at the Georgian Tea Rooms and visit to the Jane Austen's Museum

Wishing you all a lovely week-end!

Karim