Meet as usual in the car park on Brookley Rd at 8.50 for a 9.00 A.M start.
The plan this week is to head out of Brock onto the Beaulieu rd via the Balmer Lawn hotel until we reach the Glimmering Jewel of the New Forest, behold the magnificent open waters of Hatchett Pond.
What can one say about Hatchett Pond hat hasn’t already been said?
‘Vivid and sapphire-hued ’,
‘One for the bucket list’
‘Stunning, saturated with such deep shades of lavender at sunrise and melodies of tangerine at sunset that it’s almost unbelievable’.
‘One needs to take a helicopter flight to fully appreciate its grandeur’.
‘Hauntingly picturesque’
‘Marvel at the mesmerizing ripples and mirror-like reflections of crystalline clarity’.
‘The eighth natural wonder of the world’
‘Life changing’
‘I would willingly sell my house and all its contents to gaze upon its grandeur’
Are all things that have been said about other, better lakes and yet did not Samuel Johnson write ‘He who is tired of Hatchett Pond is tired of life?’, well no he didn’t.
We turn right off Beaulieu rd to pass through East Boldre, east of Norleywood and then St Leonards before returning north to the main rd. Turning right and down the hill we approach the tranquil hamlet of Beaulieu.
We sprint up through Beaulieu via Palace lane before turning right onto Exbury lane, through Exbury and down to dodge the waves at Lepe. From here up through Langley and Blackfield before heading back towards Beaulieu along Rollestone Rd.
From Beaulieu it's back up the hill past the Koh-i-Noor of the South and to Brock to visit to The Sett for Coffee and something more calorie dense.
Sadly I am away sunning myself this weekend on the Costa del Cornwall so if someone could familiarise themselves with the route that would be great. Hopefully my absence will encourage a higher turnout than we have had for the past few weeks.
Course downloadable here
Phil H
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