Brockenhurst, the New Forest day 2

We stayed up late last night to watch the results of the Eurovision song contest. Well, that was a waste of time. Buoyed by last year's success, we had high hopes of a decent score. Well how wrong were we?

This morning as we raised the window blinds on our beautiful vista, we spotted a grey squirrel scuttling up a nearby tree before disappearing into the green canopy. Followed closely by a treecreeper. Small and active it explored the crevices in the bark for insects who thought they were safely hidden. All around us on the site campers packed up. We booked in for another night. Yesterday had been fantastic. Despite our aches and pains, we'd really enjoyed our cycle out. Today we planned to do it all again. 

Our sit bones were complaining a little, but we soon settled in to our ride. The forest much quieter today meant we could take in our surroundings at our leisure. Violet blue bluebells bathed in the sunlight that penetrated through the trees. Their heady scent permeating the air. We stopped to 'Forest Bathe'. Which effectively is taking in the forest atmosphere which supposedly will improve sleep quality, mood and the ability to focus whilst reducing stress. Sounds good to us. We plan to do more. 

This evening, our plan of a Chinese take-away or fish and chips were scuppered, so we fired up the grill and cooked sausages' once again. While they cooked, we reflected on our day.

This morning the couple camped across from us gave John an adaptor for the new gas burner that we'd bought for tent camping. It meant we could use gas cylinders as well as cartridges. As we bid them farewell, their classic Triumph Spitfire roared into life, a lasting flash of red as they drove through the trees. The kindness of strangers, we've experienced it so many times whilst travelling, and it lifts our hearts. 

Where to tomorrow, Marge? A couple we spoke to before going cycling this morning were from Romsey, around a thirty-minute drive down the road. We all agreed that you don't need to travel far from home to find a beautiful stop in your van. So, we'll probably drive just a little way from here tomorrow, not needing to be home until Tuesday. Maybe we'll slot in a spot of forest bathing before we leave here.