lovely weekend camping in the new forest with chris, tonia, (and jude!), kerryn and tracey. after a really crap week, i was looking forward to this mini-getaway.

it didn’t get off to the most auspicious start, however, when we didn’t end up leaving on friday evening as planned. making the most of a bad situation, however, we went to the cinema to see “transformers” which (aside from grossly oversexualising the teenage female lead and being an unapologetically pro-military propaganda piece) was a delightfully engaging and enjoyable piece of fluff.

early saturday morning we headed down and met up with chris and ton, who’d arrived the night before, just in time for a big brunch barbeque and the marginally appropriate cocktail hour of eleven. we stuffed ourselves silly, took a short rest, and decided to head into the forest for a brisk constitutional.

and, in spite of the fact that the new forest is fully pathed, signposted, and the size of a large postage stamp, we got lost. probably the only people in the history of the new forest to ever achieve such an ignominious accomplishment. we wandered for three and a half hours – at first content merely to meander, after an hour or two mildly wondering when we would emerge someplace recognisable, and finally trudging along on the brink of hysteria until we stumbled across some hikers with a map.

finally, blissfully, we popped out in the village of brockenhurst where we immediately sought refuge in a pub. rehydrated and refreshed, we headed off again, and eventually dragged ourselves back to the campsite at dusk, a full 7 hours later, only to discover the wild donkeys had attempted to break into our tents in our absence. as the sun dropped, so did the temperature, until we were shivering with the chill, but we bundled up and sat by the fire, drinking beers and craning our necks to watch the early part of the meteor showers.

we were awakened this morning to the pre-dawn cry of “moo cows!” by the early-rising jude, and breakfasted on tea, rusks and muffins. as we were rousing ourselves, however, the sky darken and began to rain, necessitating an early pack-up and departure. instead, we headed for the nearby coast, where we strolled on the beach, walked out to hurst castle, and lounged in the sunlight, catching the ferry back to our cars, where we piled in and headed home.

a weekend full of unexpectedly delightful surprises. more photos here.

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