Milford on Sea

Last week we escaped London and took ourselves off to the South coast to 'be beside the seaside'. But this was no ordinary trip to the beach, we (lightly) packed our rucksacks and jumped on our bikes; this was going to be an actioned packed day.

The plan was to get the 08.35 am train from Waterloo to Brockenhurst, slap bang in the middle of the New Forest. From there we would cycle the 9 miles to Milford on Sea, via a little port town called Lymington.

We arrived in to Brockenhurst just after 10 am to glorious sunshine! After weeks of rain we could not believe our luck, with a light wind it was the perfect day for it. We checked the map and set off cycling towards the sea. Within half a mile we encountered some of the famous New Forest free-roaming ponies holding up the traffic as they trotted down the road. Being on the bikes was great as we could cycle freely with them, what a change to cycling in London.

It was quite an easy ride to Lymington with only a few mild hills and one wrong turn. As the sun was getting hotter it was the perfect time to get off the bikes and explore the little georgian town. We were very tempted by the deep sea Mackerel fishing tour but stayed focused on our goal of a wild swim in the sea and just had a leisurely look around a few shops. One rather odd (and disturbing) thing we spotted in a local 'toy' shop was, not one, but two Golliwog stands. We thought they were banded in the UK?! Well apart from that it was a very lovely and peaceful town, well worth a visit on a sunny day.

From Lymington we continued on to Milford on Sea. The reason we had chosen this spot in the first place was because Jacqui's Grandma had a beach hut we were borrowing for the day, amazing. As we rode up the coast road there was a stunning view of the Isle of Wight and the vast open sea. We eagerly carried our bikes down to the beach and set up camp at the beach hut. First things first, a cup of tea and lunch.

The beach hut was very well stocked with a table and chairs, sun loungers, wind breaks, a little gas stove, various beach toys and a serious looking blow-up boat and oars. Well we just had to take that for a test drive didn't we. Thankfully there was a foot pump so Anna set about blowing it up.

After relaxing in front of the beautiful view for a while it is was time for the wild sea swim. The weather had started to turn and the sky was now covered in cloud, it was now or never. We put on our swimsuits and without a second thought (to chicken out), ran hand-in-hand into the water. Once we had fully submerged ourselves it actually wasn't too cold. The warm weather over the last few weeks must have done its job in keeping the water temperature higher. However, due to the wind that has slowly been picking up, there were plenty of strong waves to battle with. This somewhat limited our attempts at swimming but it was just as fun to try and jump over them trying to avoid being knocked over. Once we had been in and seen how choppy the water was, we decided against taking the boat out. But that didn't stop us sitting in it on shore with a cuppa and pretending we were out at sea.

After drying off (and warming up) we took a stroll down the beach and to our joy the sun started to break through the clouds again. We collected some interesting pebbles and spent a while watching two kite boarders doing their stuff. Then we climbed back up the cliff to the car park at the top for a cheeky ice cream, we were at the beach after all! We tried a very delicious locally-made New Forest Rum and Raisin flavour, yum.

Sadly the time was getting on and we had to begin our journey back to Brockenhurst for our train to London. It was a lovely early evening cycle through the New Forest with plenty things to stop and look at along the way, mainly more ponies. Then at the last mile we came to a giant hill. Luckily for us we were on the right side and sailed down it with the wind in our faces and the sun on our backs, a glorious ending to a very enjoyable ride.

In Brockenhurst we had dinner at a cute little pub while we waited for the train, and that's when the tiredness hit us. Completely worn out from the exercise and sun we sat there recapping our favourite parts of the day feeling very proud.

With slightly pinker faces than when we started, we arrived back into London at 11.30 pm and after a quick (slow) cycle home we were tucked up in bed and fast asleep by midnight. What a fabulous day trip to the beach we had. Here's hoping the sun comes back and we can squeeze in a few more adventures before the summer is over.