Lovely sunny day!

[blackberry444]

Lovely day, so we moved ourselves, got out of the door by 11.30 and drove to Low Newton by the Sea, where we hoped to have lunch in The Ship Inn.  We had been told what a lovely place it was and were really looking forward to it.

Unfortunately for us, the village has mostly been acquired by the National Trust and they've decided that people should park at the edge of the village and walk in.  John didn't want to do that, so in the end we went to High Newton by the Sea and had an undistinguished lunch in The Joiner's Arms, a place which not only doesn't accept credit cards, but doesn't take debit cards, either.  Fortunately I had some cash with me, although it was really cheap.  Sadly the local crab baguettes were spoiled by having no brown meat in them, which is where I think most of the flavour resides, but their chips were very good.  Charles had crab cakes which he enjoyed, but none of us felt like pudding.

We then went back to Low Newton, John dropped us off as near the beach as possible and I staggered along with Charles for a few yards.  I had my trekking poles, but it was freezing cold, and there was nowhere to sit down when I got tired, which was pretty quickly.  The reason why I like Boulmer beach so much is that it's studded with large rocks and I can stagger from one to the next and have the illusion of having a walk on the beach.

We were only away from the car for about 30 minutes.  It was very beautiful there, but there was little debris on the shore, so nothing interesting to pick up  and squirrel away in my pocket.  And it was soooo cold!!

Here is Low Newton by the Sea






Oh dear!  They've come out rather dark on here.  They look much better on my PC.  It was a very lovely place, but Charles found it uninteresting and I found it not the right place for me, for various reasons.  Next time we'll go back to Boulmer and other places, even if we have to bring a picnic, since the pub in Boulmer was so unsatisfactory last time we went there.

It was lovely going out there, even if I only got 30 minutes or so actually walking about and getting fresh air, but it was so cold, even though I was warmly wrapped up, that I've now get a horribly painful knee!  Sigh!

I do wish I could go for a long walk or drive on my scooter along the front at Lee-on-Solent!

Tomorrow I have nothing at all planned, so I maybe I'll finally be able to do some writing.  Then perhaps I shall feel in a better temper!

And who knows?  My camera might come, not to mention my purple slouch boots!!

Comments

[aellia.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you got out and about,I hoped that you would.
The photos look chilly !
I hope the postman comes with his arms full tomorrow :-)
xx

[hooloovoo_42]

Glad to hear you had a day out. Ma has the same problem with lack of places to sit and rest. I think it's about time that people like the NT worked out that they need to make places more accessible for the less mobile. It's annoying when I have to drop Ma off at the theatre and then run off to fetch the car afterwards, but when it's somewhere outdoors that you want to visit, there should be more places for being able to park and rest. Not that it would do us any good unless Ma actually applies for a blue badge.

[femsc.livejournal.com]

Why do you have to park at the edge and then walk in? Don't the Notional Rust recognise blue badges? Have they not noticed that a vast chunk of their membership is, shall we say, the more mature part of the population, who are likely to have various health and mobility problems?
I wonder how the residents manage?

[blackberry44.livejournal.com]

I am thinking about writing to the NT about it, and also to the pub we planned to visit for lunch.

The residents are allowed to take their cars into the village and park in various places where they're allowed to do so, most of them on their own drives.

[g8bur.livejournal.com]

I am thinking about writing to the NT about it, and also to the pub we planned to visit for lunch.

I'd go ahead and do just that. They need to be told that their restrictions prevented you from visiting, and why.

The NT do seem to be making rather too much of an effort to be hyper-green and to discourage visitors in cars, without thinking enough of people who simply can't use alternative transport, either because of disability, or simply because the alternative transport doesn't exist or is unaffordable. Their green incentives are understandable in principle, but I think they really do need to moderate them with real-world practicality, to avoid alienating their visitors and supporters.

I'll bet the pub isn't too happy with the visitor restrictions, which must hit their trade pretty hard, as well as visitor numbers in general.

[femsc.livejournal.com]

I understand the need to restrict vehicular access to some areas; however badge holders are generally accepted to be in need of better treatment. They wouldn't be given the badges otherwise.

Instead of two trecking poles I recommend a shooting stick or similar. Something you can use as a 'chair' when necessary. Or one of those things like a Zimmer frame with a seat. Use it as a walking aid and then sit down when you need to. You'd soon get used to it, and no one else would take any more notice of you than they do now. By which I mean that although *you* might dislike the thing intensely, you'd be the only one.

Have a look here for ideas:
http://www.betterlifehealthcare.com/products.php?catID=6&subID=444

[g8bur.livejournal.com]

I've got one of the X-shape Economy Folding Seat Sticks (or at least, something which looks identical to it); I gave about ten or fifteen quid for it, at a stall at a steam rally. I use it at rallies, when I want to sit by the arena, and all the straw-bales that are usually provided as seats have been occupied by others.

[blackberry44.livejournal.com]

Oh! I wondered about those but didn't think they'd be up to supporting my enormous weight!

I will have another look. Ta Andrew.

[g8bur.livejournal.com]

I weigh a fair bit more than 16 stone (the stated weight limit of the ones shown on that wibble), and it hasn't broken yet. That may just be my luck, though; another sample of the same model might have failed. Also, the fact that it has four feet makes it a bit less easy to keep steady on rough ground, though on a rally field the ends of the legs usually make enough of a dent in the ground that it soon settles, unless the ground's extremely hard.