Parish Holiday Day 3 -- 9-4-10

Pictures from top

Buckler's Hard -- cottages of ship building workers
Picnic along the river
Boat trip on the Beaulieu River
Kayak school on the Beaulieu River
Walking between Buckler's Hard and the village of Beaulieu -- two pictures
A house in Beaulieu village

Woke up feeling better; hope it lasts. Today we headed for Buckler’s Hard, a village known for ship building in the late 18^th and 19^th centuries. A “hard” is a natural harbor, not manmade, which was the reason for the village’s existence and livelihood. Three of the ships used by Admiral Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar were built here. There is an interesting museum which provides a lot of information about shipbuilding, about the life of a common laborer of the 19^th century and his family, and the activities that went on in the area during WWII and the preparation for the invasion of Normandy.

After the museum we walked the short distance to the actual village. Most of the buildings are occupied and used for living or business by the current tenants. Two buildings are open for tour. In the Shipwright’s Cottage, a costumed guide tells about the life and work of Thomas Burlace, one of the men who built Nelson’s ships, as one goes through the small house. The second building is the chapel which was created in 1880 from a shipwright’s cottage. By this point it was lunchtime so we gathered near the Beaulieu (pronounced Beau (as in beautiful) lee) River for a picnic. It was sunny, and the temps were reasonable, but there was quite a breeze; anything loose blew away.

Next on the agenda was a short boat ride on the river, heading south toward the Solent (ocean narrows separating the south coast of England from the Isle of Wight). There are a lot of boats, especially sail boats, moored along the river. And it also has a kayak school and rental facility as we saw a number of kayaks on the river

After the half hour boat ride, most of us took off to walk to Beaulieu Village. The four who elected to take the shorter, more direct, route unfortunately got lost and ended up walking farther and longer than those of us who decided on the more scenic, slightly longer, path. At Beaulieu everyone, in different groups depending on arrival time, had tea. I elected to share a cream tea which means a scone accompanied by strawberry preserves and clotted cream. Quite yummy.

Arrived back home about 5:45. Although I felt much better today than I have been feeling recently, I still retired to my room by 8:30 to write this and make sure I got to bed at a reasonable hour.