Beautiful Newtown harbour is on the Isle of Wight roughly half way between Cowes and Yarmouth. It’s managed by the National Trust and is a stunning natural harbour and nature reserve. It’s one of Tom’s favourite anchorages and he has visions of being the only boat moored in the harbour. This is never the case, though if you arrive mid-week it’s usually quieter. It’s beauty, shelter and beaches make it a popular spot; even on […]
Food is plentiful in Cowes. You won’t get much by way of fine dining but you will get good atmosphere and something to cater for everyone’s tastes. There are a wide variety of restaurants along the Cowes High Street. Walk out from the marina and turn either left or right and within a few hundred yards there will be a pub or a restaurant or a yacht club that’s able to take you and your […]
We needed to get the hydraulics fixed on Trouper. That meant a visit to Hamble Yacht Services as they know the boat and had originally installed the hydraulics. We decided to make a long weekend out of the chore. Friday morning we set off on the early falling tide. Getting up before you’ve gone to bed, as they say in Monty Python, is not much fun but we were rewarded with a calm, warm day […]
Lymington is on the edge of the New Forest. The New Forest was established by Royal Charter in about 1069. Obviously they’d run out of interesting names; or perhaps they didn’t think about future-proofing the name. Anyway it was originally established as a Royal Hunting Ground. Luckily this has meant the relative preservation of a now unique habitat. It was also the source of the Royal Navy’s oak timbers for ship-building until they moved […]
Restaurants, pubs and takeaways are plentiful in Lymington. Over the years we’ve been visiting some have come and gone. There was a great restaurant off the High Street that was in a converted methodist hall and had a piano installed half way up a double-height wall… sadly that’s gone. Last season we went to the following… Stanwell House Hotel This fine hotel has a great fish restaurant in the front of their building. It’s pricey […]
Trouper’s home port used to be Lymington and it’s one of our favourite spots in Southern England. When we’d initially dreamed about buying a boat we said we’d keep it in one of the marinas in Lymington. Tom’s father kept his day boat, a Hawk 20, at Lymington so we used to sail regularly from Lymington across to the Isle of Wight to: Yarmouth, New Town or Cowes as day sails on the little boat. However […]
I‘ve already mentioned that Beaulieu is small and relatively quiet but there’s a surprising amount to see and do. Boating up river The water does get shallow quickly but if you have a tender with outboard, kayak or even a stand up paddle board then you can pootle up river all the way to Beaulieu village at the top of the tide. There is a public mooring available on the right hand riverbank (as you […]
The dining options are limited in the Beaulieu area. There’s the Master Builder’s pub and then in Beaulieu village there’s Monty’s and The Terrace at the Montagu Arms. The latter is their michelin starred restaurant. We’ve eaten at both the Master Builder and Monty’s this year. Monty’s was an excellent experience. Monty’s Some friends of ours met us at Beaulieu on mid-Summer’s day to help celebrate the longest day. This meant we were chauffeured to Monty’s […]
It’s not a surprise that there’s a lot to do near Yarmouth. The Needles is a well known UK landmark and tourism in some shape or form has been around since Queen Victoria built Osborne House. An open top bus operates frequently and follows a circular route from Yarmouth to Freshwater Bay to the Needles and the amusement park before looping back to Yarmouth. If you’d prefer to stretch your legs then there are plenty […]
Yarmouth punches above its weight where food is concerned. I counted six pubs, two bakers, four cafes, two general stores and at least three ice-cream shops. This is in a town of three streets! The Isle of Wight is developing a reputation for gastronomy and so it wasn’t a surprise to me that there’d be excellent food – cooked and ready to prepare – available. We visited The George Hotel The hotel is under new […]
On Land 