The New Forest is one of my favourite places to escape to and go for a nice long walk. There are so many places to explore, from the little towns and villages to finding a car park in the middle of nowhere. I packed up a picnic to eat in the car – it was far too cold and drizzly to find a picnic spot – and off we went to visit two wedding venues. First we headed to Rhinefield House which is up a beautiful road lined with tall trees. Afterwards we found a car park off Rhinefield Ornamental Drive and had our lunch looking out on all the dog walkers wrapped up in waterproofs and wellies. As the rain stopped we took the opportunity to go for a walk along the path, although with my nice boots rather than my walking boots we didn’t venture off the path. It was very tranquil and everyone we passed said hello. I feel like I can completely lose myself on a walk, not literally, but in my thoughts. All the stresses of life seem to ebb away while I’m out in the fresh air. I forgot about the mountain of laundry and all those niggling worries that were playing on my mind. A half hour of peace and quiet, and oh I wished the weather was better to keep on walking.

When the rain picked up we moved on to Lyndhurst to grab some tea and cake. I love cake but what I love more at this time of year is a warm crumble, which I couldn’t resist. I ordered apple and rhubarb crumble swimming in custard and oh my goodness it was delicious! I’ve never tried rhubarb before and I think I have a new favourite pudding now. We looked around the shops before heading to our second venue of the day just outside of Lyndhurst. If it hadn’t started getting dark I would have loved to walk around and see the ponies there.

Usually when we drive around the New Forest we see donkeys by the side of the road, but the donkey count = 0. Fingers crossed for an appearance next time.