14/08/17-New Forest open top bus tour with a stop off at Sturt Pond and Keyhaven
The time of year is here when three coloured open top buses show tourists and locals alike the delights of the New Forest and tell a variety of local historical and cultural tales. It's become a bit of a tradition for me and my Dad, who doesn't accompany me on any of my regular New Forest walks now, to do this tour in the summer and today was when we did it this year. It's always such a different way to see the forest and very refreshing.
We started off taking the costal blue route from Brockenhurst to Milford on Sea which eased us into the trip nicely and it felt good to feel the wind in our faces again, I took the 1st picture in this photoset of mine today on this route. We then sampled one of my favourite classic bits of New Forest coast and walked from Milford shown in the second picture in this photoset to Keyhaven, via the beautiful Sturt Pond shown in the third picture in this photoset. The sun came out nicely on this walk from time to time to allow us to appreciate the full beauty of this place. But this walk gave us like it often does a wildlife flair, seeing lots of birds in a costal habitat I had not explored for a while. Lots of Sand Martins flying around, a glimpse of a Wheatear and a great variety of water species seen with a particular close encounter with a Black-tailed Godwit resulting in the fourth picture in this photoset proved the highlights of this. I also managed the fifth picture in this photoset of a Turnstone, it was great to take two bird pictures I was happy with as I hadn’t taken many bird pictures since mid June at all. This is a usual drought which I tend to experience as the variety of bird species around goes down and my weekend trips focus on butterflies and I feel the first three days of my week off have given my big lens a big run out and I’m happy to get some results I’m pleased with today. I took the sixth picture in this photoset when walking to Keyhaven.
We then took the blue route back at Keyhaven as far as Lymington, where we changed to the tour's original green route. I hadn't done this one last summer so it was nice to see it again, I especially enjoyed the lovely water vistas it offers at Hatchet Pond and Beaulieu as shown in the seventh, eighth and ninth pictures in this photoset. Then we departed the green route at Lyndhurst and swapped to my favourite route the red. This is because it is slightly more rugged than the others and goes past the Godshill area which I think is the most beautiful bit of the national park, taking in Deadman Hill and Ashley Walk two of my top New Forest places. Today was no exception the views were amazing and the heather is at its very best colour at the moment I think in the New Forest as I said on Saturday. The red route especially and all of them allowed me to observe this so well.
It was another really enjoyable day today, it fills the day so well and just makes you enjoy it in many ways. As I said before I highly recommend it and for families it's the perfect engaging activity to do with the kids over the summer. Along with my Pig Bush supreme visit on Saturday, travel through it to get to Martin Down yesterday, today and what I have planned tomorrow I really am enjoying me precious local national park to the full before going off to the East Midlands for the main purpose of my week off the Bird Fair.
Wildlife Sightings Summary: One of my favourite birds the Little Egret, one of my favourite butterflies the Red Admiral, Grey Heron, Curlew, Oysterctacher, Turnstone, Black-tailed Godwit, Herring Gull, Black-headed Gull, Mute Swan, Mallard, Swallow, Sand Martin, Wheatear, Meadow Pipit, Woodpigeon, Starling, Robin, Blackbird and Gatekeeper and Large White butterflies.
