Salisbury & New Forest
We went off to the New Forest in search of some of its furry inhabitants. We started off by paying a visit to the wonderful New Forest Wildlife Park where we were able to come face to face with some familiar animals from both here in the UK and also from Europe. We had a great time watching all the different animals, including otters, wolves, bison and deer as well as many other smaller mammals and several species of beautiful owls. 
We drove to the beautiful village of Brockenhurst in hope of getting up close with some of the wild ponies that roam the Forest. We did indeed find plenty, happily grazing amongst the village roads and houses and were not in the least bit phased by our presence.
A morning was spent soaking up and learning about some of city’s history. We parked in the beautiful grounds of Salisbury Cathedral where we were blown away by this amazing piece of gothic architecture. As we entered, we were greeted by a group of very knowledgeable tour guides who were very obliging and showed us around the cathedral. The first guide gave us a demonstration of the famous cathedral clock which is incredibly the world’s oldest faceless clock dating from 1386. The purpose of the clock was to tell the clergy when it was time to pray. It has since struck the hours for 498 years and has ticked more than 500 million times! We were then taken on a guided tour and given an in-depth explanation of each of the beautiful stained glass windows including who they were made by and the story behind them.
A great time was had at the National Motor Museum and the Montague Estate. We kicked things off by checking out the vast collection of motor vehicles, beginning at the early day of automotive technology right up to the present day. This not only included motor cars but also a huge collection of classic and modern motorbikes.
Checking out the cars in the ‘movie exhibit’, we were able to see some of the very iconic, on screen vehicles including Mr Bean's Mini, Del Boy's Robin Reliant from Only Fools and Horses and cars from blockbuster films such as Harry Potter and James Bond!
We then explored Palace House, the very grand stately home of the Montague family who still own the palace. We learnt plenty of interesting information about the family’s history and about the palace, too.
It was lovely to be able to explore the incredibly well kept gardens, enjoying all the different smells coming from the flowerbeds.
Fun was had on the vintage open top bus which took us on a tour of the stately grounds, in the glorious sunshine.
Next we got to 'meet' The Stig.
Saving the best till last we wandered around the last exhibit which was the cars of Top Gear. Here we saw most of the cars, or at least what was left of them from the special episodes of the BBC hit show.
The beautiful weather continued so we decided it would be a great day for messing about on the river. We were met by a cruiser which took us on a trip up the Beaulieu. Our captain was very informative, giving us a guided tour as we made our way along the still waters.
The afternoon was spent at the historic Bucklers Hard on the Beaulieu River itself. We made our way to the Maritime Museum and discovered all about the little hamlets illustrious ship building history. We discovered that it was here that many of Lord Nelsons ships were built before doing battle with the combined French and Spanish navy in the Battle of Trafalgar.
A must was a trip to Salisbury's world heritage site, Stonehenge. We started off at the visitor’s centre where we learnt how during the stone age, they were able to transport and erect the stones and what they also may have been used for. We even got to experience what life was like in a stone age hut!
An amazing time was had at Boscombe Down Aviation Collection and unlike many other aviation museums, here you can actually sit inside Jet Fighters and others decommissioned military aircraft. The staff at the museum were really welcoming and showed us around, helping us indulge in the interactive fun as we climbed in and out of various aircraft and helicopters. 
No comments:
Post a Comment