Potters Leisure Resort (Five Lakes) with Midi & Marguerite

Potters  Leisure Resort  (Five Lakes)

It was all to play for down at the archery shed as we loaded our bows and did our best Robin Hood impressions. After a few practise shots we were hitting the target and scoring highly.

The competition heated up on the pool table and there were some great shots. 

More activities ensued and we enjoyed a fun afternoon playing ping, pong, mini football and completing jigsaw puzzles. 

The evening entertainment never disappoints. The talented team performed a variety of upbeat shows with all the glitz and glamour.  We needed no persuasion to hit the dance floor and show off our disco moves. 

For many, it was the first time trying shooting, and it was fantastic to see everyone hit the target and enjoy the experience. Loading the pellets, looking through the scope, and keeping our cool to fire proved to be a rewarding challenge. 

We got our creative juices flowing down in the arts and crafts centre and were proud of our pottery creations. 

Darts, Jenga and Shuffleboard kept us entertained and it was great to see the smiles on everyone's faces. 

New Forest & Hampshire County Show with Oli, Ayshea & Hayley

 New Forest & Hampshire County Show 

Two fabulous day were spent at the New Forest & Hampshire County Show. We knew there was going to be so much to see and do over the next two days and we couldn’t wait to get going.

We then took our seats in the main arena where we watched the Heavy Horse and English Shire Horse and carriages. They were such big animals but they looked incredibly graceful.

We headed straight into livestock tents where we were wowed at how many breads of cows, sheep and animals there are. The piglets were extremely cute! 

We came across the Royal Corps Army Music, who were absolutely brilliant performing songs with their instruments and of course we danced along. We then headed to the Countryside Ring where we saw different types of hunting hounds and their owners who were very smartly dressed. This was followed by the ferret demonstration showing us how they hunted and finally we watched the falconry display where different birds of prey flew above our heads as the keeper told us lots of facts about them. We watched the Horse of the Year competition, and we were amazed at how beautiful and smartly groomed they were. We all picked our individual winners. Continuing on we went to the see the show jumping competition, which was really impressive, and we couldn’t believe how speedy the horses moved around the course clearing the high fences. 

This was then followed by the amazing Bolddog FMX Freestyle motor bike display which was very impressive as they flew and flipped through the air. It really was daredevil stuff. arrived at the community area, where we watched a dance/circus production who performed a gravity defying show on poles which they added to throughout. This was all whilst dancing and doing acrobatics. It was so impressive and something we hadn’t seen before.

There were displays of home grown vegetables and we all guessed at what one would receive the first prize rosette. We couldn't believe the size of some of the produce.

After our days out we spent the evening dancing the night away to the brilliant live shows. We sure love a good boogie! 

After our jam packed days out we loved coming home and relaxing in our very own hot tub! 

We visited Burley, a very quaint village where we soon came across a group of horses that were in the road trying to cross holding up all of the traffic. We climbed aboard the old-fashioned wagon and two shire horses towed us around the trail of Burley. It was really good fun and lovely to see some great scenery.

We reached our destination of Exbury, which is where we spent the day. Exbury House and Gardens is an estate set in over 200 acres on the banks of Beaulieu River. It has been established for over 100 years and is famous for visits from the Royal family. We walked around the different types of gardens, seeing a variety of plants, flowers and trees and our nature lovers spotted bumble bees and butterflies along the way. Our walk took us to the furthest viewpoint where we came across a new plaque in memory of Queen Elizbeth II. We walked back via the Exbury private house and went into an art gallery, where we saw some impressive paintings and artwork. 

We took a drive to Highcliffe, a coastal village which also had a castle. There was a lovely sea breeze, and we couldn’t wait to kick off our shoes for a little paddle in the water. After that we explored the castle ruins and grounds before moving on to Mudeford Quay in Christchurch which is an old fishing village. We took a walk along the beach and absorbed the lovely sights and surroundings on this beautiful sunny day. There were lots of families with children crabbing along the sea edge and we were keen to see if they had caught anything.