Test Valley District

What a lovely part of the world! The southern part of the UK at this time of year, and especially after all the rain in July, is very green and scenic. Helen took us for several drives through the beautiful countryside, very rural but very pretty. The famous Goodwood polo fields are close by with lots of polo games taking place. It was the first time we had attended a polo game and were surprised when we were told that in 4 x 7 min quarters it was not uncommon for riders to use up to 6 different horses!! Definitely a rich man’s sport! It was somewhat intimidating for the horses to be at full gallop chasing the small white ball heading directly towards the spectator crowd near the edge of the field and just before the crowd ducked for cover the horses would be pulled up at the last minute. It’s no wonder the horses are changed so often!
Goodwood of course is also famous for its historic car racing track, but this was not operating during our visit.
We visited the city of Winchester, home of the Cathedral immortalised by The New Vaudeville Band in 1966, and looked around the huge building. And of course Carolina and Helen went off shopping while Peter was left alone to split his time between any comfortable coffee shop he could find and being bored out of his brain.
At nights we all caught up the latest and funny Jeremy Clarkson series called The Farm, all about his farming endeavours on his 1000 acre farm in The Cotswolds. In the mornings we would wake up and look outside the window and watch for the deer that come in from the woods in the Commons nearby.
These days were very enjoyable relaxing with friends while seeing some of sights of southern England.
On our last day in this area John and Helen took us to the medieval town of Arundel and the castle. A very relaxing day with them including lunch.Read more