West Parley

We have a couple of weeks in which we can travel prior to a return to Hampshire and North Baddesley at the end of the month.
We are making our way along the south coast heading for Sidmouth, stopping off at a couple of places on the way.
First stop is this delightful CS site next to the Stour river just north of Bournemouth - Parley Glade, where we were greeted by a very friendly warden who was keen to point out the prevalence of local wildlife - deer, foxes and badgers who pass through the site.
We were soon set up and in the afternoon we walked some of the Stour River walk hoping to catch site of a kingfisher by the riverbank. We walked towards the mouth of the river passing the Kingfisher Lodge tea rooms and information centre but no kingfishers were to be seen. This stretch of the river was very pleasant and the walk very peaceful due to very few aeroplanes taking off from the nearby Hurn airport.
Karen's knee started giving her some grief towards the end of the walk.
On Tuesday we dusted down the bikes and oiled them up after their winter break and cycled off to Bournemouth to spend a couple of hours there. The route was predominantly on roadside cycle paths which were safe and we arrived in the centre of the town in the Valley Gardens. Just opposite the queues to get into Primark and Zara were extensive and we gave them a wide berth. We enjoyed a packed lunch on the sea front looking out at the stationary cruise liners in the bay. Although the cycling was easier for Karen the knee started giving her great pain so it was a relief get back to site where she could give it some rest.Read more