Our walking on this glorious sunny day was for a total of 5 miles, round trip. The leisurely stroll through the British countryside was exactly what we had imagined, in the planning stage of the "big trip". Back then, we would imagine how the country / city / region would look like and what would we went to do there. In our fantasy of rural England we saw ourselves walking hand in hand along a tree lined walking path with a wheat field stretching to a horse or cow out in the distance. Part of the planning involved research into average temperatures and recent temperatures as well. We wanted to extend spring as long as we could starting first in Spain and the moving north to England. It has worked out very well so far. It was a bit too cold in February but it has remained cool to warm ever since. In Hollywood, we were scribbling wildly on our five white boards moving entire continental visits from one year to the next based on a 2 to 3 degree temperature difference. Back to Netley and Humble, many of the paths we walked along were completely overgrown by trees and leaves. A tunnel of green that was occasionally filled with the most sublime scents. Roses, honeysuckles, and a myriad of other blooms. It was a special forested habitat where we were able to see three new life-birds. The town of Hamble is very cute and clearly it has been around for a long time. The buildings down by the river are quite old and have many older architectural elements. We poked around town, spoke with some locals and got old time gossip. For instance, there are tunnels used for smuggling that connect to different pubs in town. These tunnels were used to smuggle silk gloves way back in the day. They would only smuggle the left handed gloves on one day and then smuggle in the right handed gloves later in the week. The ordinance outlawed the smuggling of "pairs of gloves" so single gloves were not technically "pairs" so there was no breaking of the law. Another passing local warned us that our cottage is next to where the asylum used to be. He claimed that the asylum's cemetery is the most haunted place in England.
Eurasian Nuthatch
He likes to be upside down
The tiny train's engine
The Church peeking out from behind the fence
Along this path we saw two more new birds
The Eurasian Jay
can you spot the wren?
The garden wren is know to be plain. There is a slight eye ring
But the tail structure sold me on the identification
More tree lined paths
Dogs odd in the distance
Our path through Hamble
The entire island was left to grow wild
A brick gingerbread house
Spitfire, save the match
Time for our picnic
The Hamble is know for great sailing
A peek at the water
Well Lane and the Square
River Rat restaurant
A tiny lane is the main road to the docks
We met John who had been out to more countries than we have
A crayon drawing on the menu
Dom Pedro, come on over!
Our stop for ice cream
The King and Queen for a snack
Lovely setting
No liquor for us, as we have a long walk back
Stunning flowers
Old building on the waterfront
A major league sailing ship, the America's Cup was held nearby
Big sail boats abound
A very large estate across the river
Crabs! Too greedy to save its own life
The cutest ferry that crossed over the river Hamble
It is picking up some steam
Where is the black dolphin from?
We really enjoyed "titting" about with Debby who gave us this new word
We will be back for a Sunday Roast
No end of the memorials to British war dead
The Gnat-T plane manufactured on this site
A big stick for a little dog
The Glamping site in the park
This is our place
After trying many times to get a picture of the bird that lives ion this birdhouse, the neighbor gave it a try too
