Walking, paddling and piggies

After another lovely breakfast, we set off on the bikes across the forest to Bolder wood to see the deer. The forest seems to be fuller than ever with animals, and I don't think I've ever seen so many donkeys! Their foals are so cute and fluffy at the moment. It's always a slow journey across the forest, but today we were going against the traffic of the New Forest 100 Sportive cycle race, so there were even more obstacles to avoid than ever!
We got to Bolder wood just before 10, and it was still pretty quiet. We walked down the hill to see the deer, but perhaps they were waiting for the crowds to make an appearance as we couldn't spot any.

We did a lovely big loop on and off the beaten tracks (we never seem to manage to follow the proper paths for a whole walk and inevitably end up crashing through undergrowth at some point), stopping at the Reptile centre to say hello to a couple of adders, and futilely look for the promised toads and lizards in the enclosures. There were a whole family of pigs there with about 10 piglets who were very friendly, and particularly friendly with each other!

We headed back to the bikes to find the car park absolutely packed, and headed off to Lyndhurst to find some lunch.

Which we did at the Mad Hatters Tea Room, then had a quick wander around the village, and a small nap (Jamie) on the hill, then decided to find somewhere for a swim as it was so hot.
I googled 'wild swimming new forest,' and the best I could find was a small patch of water outside Bulmer Lawn Hotel, where small children were happily splashing around but there wasn't nearly enough water to actually swim. Even if it hadn't been completely freezing. So we had a paddle and sat for a bit reading books before heading home.

Molly, the gorgeous Collie X greyhound needed a bit of exercise so we threw the ball for her in the garden for a bit. She loves launching herself into the river, and I tried to get a mid-air photo, but failed.

Dinner was at the Ship Inn, the only place serving food on a Sunday night, then we headed back to pack up ready to move on tomorrow.Read more