Barton-on-Sea’s Sunday Best

Above: Hurst Castle. Photo by Justin Kercher

Above: Hurst Castle. Photo by Justin Kercher

Above: Go fossil hunting

Above: Jetty sunset

Above: Gardens

Above: beach

Above: Beach

Above: Barton-on-sea Golf Club

Barton-on-Sea is a coastal village that forms part of New Milton in Hampshire.
The village has stunning views over the Solent and the western end of the Isle of Wight. If you look to the east you can see Hurst Castle and to the west, Christchurch and Hengistbury Head. Barton-on-Sea is definitely the place to go if you prefer cliff tops to countryside.

Fossil fun
Barton-on-Sea is probably better known internationally by geologists for its fossils, but you don’t have to be an expert to enjoy them. Children both young and old love fossils, so why not go foraging for them?
The ideal place to look for local fossils is to the west of the town, where the cliffs are subject to rapid erosion. This area is accessible from the coastal path, although be prepared for some off-road walking if you the bwant to find est hidden treasures. Suitable footwear is a must as many areas get extremely muddy when it rains, so don your walking boots or wellies.
Barton-on-Sea houses a variety of fossils, including shark teeth, shells and fish remains, believed to be approximately 30 to 40 million years old. Find frequency is high so don’t fret about having disappointed little ones.
Parking is available on the seafront, along Marina Drive East.
For more information, visit the website at
www.discoveringfossils.co.uk/Bartononsea.htm. 

King of the castle
If you like history, why not visit Hurst Castle? Owned by English Heritage, Hurst Castle is situated at the seaward end of the shingle spit that extends one-and-a-half miles from Milford-on-Sea making the Isle of Wight seem like it’s within touching distance.
There are two ways to get to Hurst Castle – you can either take a long and bracing trek along the shingle storm beach The castle has been transformed into an insightful museum (although much of the building remains untouched from its last time of wartime renovations) that displays artillery up to and including World War II.
With its maze of rooms and corridors, Hurst Castle is perfect for children to play hide-and-seek. Refreshments are available from a small café within the castle grounds.
Make sure you also visit Hurst Point Lighthouse.
Hurst Ferry fares: Returns – Adults £4.50; Child £2.50
Singles – Adult £3 Child £2
Call 01590 642344 for more details.

Retail therapy and food
Shopping fans will be disappointed to find that there are very few shops in Barton-on-Sea – Marine Drive East and Sea Road hold the few, but there are many restaurants to tickle your taste buds.
Beachcomber Café is famous for its Dorset smoked kippers and full English breakfasts. It also offers a menu packed with home cooked goodies. Call 01425 611599.
Pebble Beach offers a choice of a la Carte and a lighter options menu with all dishes made from fresh meat, fish and vegetarian dishes. It is also a bar.
Call 01425 627777.
Chewton Glen’s award-winning Marryat Restaurant offers variety of special dishes. There is also a health club and golf course.
Call 01425 275341.

Tee-Time
Why not while away a day playing golf? Not only is it one of the UK’s fastest growing sports (estimated 1.7 million regular golfers), but it is a great way to keep fit as an average 18 holes usually involves walking an impressive four to five miles. Golf is a great sport as it can be played by all ages, all levels of capability and you can play alone or in a group, either socially or competitively.
Barton-on-Sea is home to one of the oldest golf clubs in Hampshire. Barton-on-Sea Golf Club is situated on the coastal cliff between Highcliffe and Milford-on-Sea. It was founded in 1897 and offers a 27-hole course. There is also a remarkable clubhouse offering food and beverages.
For membership and green fees contact the club at:
Barton-on-Sea Golf Club Ltd, Milford Road, New Milton, Hampshire BH25 5PP.  Tel. 01425 615308

And relax
If you are feeling a little stressed, why not get away from it all and indulge on a spa break?
Chewton Glen offers a variety of spa break packages, including midweek two nights and one night, which run Sunday to Thursday. Their midweek spa break includes:
* Overnight accommodation in a twin or double room 
* Continental breakfast 
* Three course table d’hote dinner in the restaurant 
* One 60 minute spa treatment per person, per night 
* Unlimited use of the award-winning spa facilities 
* Complimentary sessions in the dance and aerobics studio
* Chewton Glen – Hotel, Health & Country Club
* New Milton, Hampshire  BH25 6QS
Call 01425 275341 or e-Mail: reservations@chewtonglen.com for price tariffs and more information.

Burn rubber
If motorbikes drive you wild why not visit the Sammy Spiller Museum in New Milton?
Open seven days a week from 10am to 4.30pm, The Sammy Miller Museum has one of the finest collections of restored motorcycles in Europe. With over 300 classic and rare motorcycles, the museum also boasts exotic prototypes, factory racers and 70 years of sporting and pleasure memorabilia.
Many of the motorbikes are fully functional (to competitive level) and are run in classic bike events which is why this museum is known as a ‘live museum’.  Some of the beautiful classic bikes are available to hire. Call on 01425 620777 for more information.
Refreshments are available in the on-site tearoom and there is also a children’s play area.
Tickets are £5.90 for adults and £3 for children.
Sammy Miller Motorcycle Museum, Bashley Cross Rd
New Milton, Hampshire   BH25 5SZ . Tel: 01425 616644

We are sailing
If you have a boat or are thinking about getting a boat, why not join a sailing club? Small but lively, Hurst Castle Sailing Club has an emphasis on enjoyment rather than competition.
The club, which caters for yachts and dinghies, has a full programme of sailing events during the season (with something for the racing, cruising or pottering sailor), as well as popular social events throughout the year.
Contact David Hall regarding membership at info@hcsc.org.uk.

Water babies
If you love water gardens, why not stroll around New Forest Water Gardens near Lymington?
Just seven miles outside of Barton-on-Sea, the gardens were one of King Edward V’s favourite hideaways. Found at Newlands Manor, the water garden is attached to what once was the gardener’s cottage.
Today the water garden contains freshwater fish, koi carp, edible French frogs and other pond life such as crayfish and newts. Children will enjoy feeding the wildlife, especially as the ducks, doves and fish will eat from your hand.
The New Forest Water Gardens, Newlands Manor, Lymington, Hampshire  SO41 0JH. Tel: 01590 644405

Sunday walk: Keyhaven’s Solent Shore
From 50 Walks in Hampshire & Isle of Wight,
AA Publishing

Distance: five miles
Minimum time: two hours
Free parking by harbour wall or pay-and-display car park

Between Hurst Spit at the western end of the Solent and the ancient town of Lymington lies a huge expanse of salt and freshwater marshes and mudflats, a breezy, watery landscape that’s more reminiscent perhaps of East Anglia than Hampshire.
The area is a birdwatcher’s paradise, the marshes, lagoons and ponds attracting rare and interesting species, especially in the winter. So take your binoculars with you on this walk.
From your vantage point on the sea wall you can scan the saltings and pools and see a wide range of waders and wildfowl. Guaranteed sightings will include a heron loping lazily across a lagoon, the curlew probing the mud with its long, down-curved bill, shelduck dabbling in the shallows, and soaring skylarks singing high above the reedbeds.
Walk this way in winter and you should see huge flocks of black-necked Brent geese feeding on the eel-grass, long-tailed ducks, greenshanks and, out on the Solent, goldeneye. The elegant common and sandwich terns, which breed on Hurst Spit, can be seen overhead during the summer months.

Directions
* Leave the car park and follow the Solent Way along the harbour wall heading east. Turn right through a kissing gate beyond the parking area. Remain on the good shingle path close to the foreshore, then along the sea wall, with fine views across the Solent to Tennyson Down and Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight. Inland views take in the wildlife rich
Keyhaven Marshes.
The area has not always been a refuge for wildlife. Between the 12th and 19th centuries salt extraction was a flourishing industry along this stretch of coastline. At one time there were 13 saltworks on Keyhaven and Pennington marshes. Sea water was impounded in shallow tidal ponds, or ‘salterns’, each about 20ft (6m) square, and left to evaporate.
Once it had formed a strong brine, it was pumped by wind pump into boiling houses with coal-fired furnaces, where the water was boiled until salt crystals were left. Lymington salt was highly regarded and by the 18th century supplied much of the southern England and was even exported to America. In 1800 4,000 tons were produced but when new railways brought in cheaper rock salt from Cheshire the industry declined.

* Ignore all paths inland, your sea wall path skirting Oxey Marsh, with distant views of Lymington Marina, before heading west beside a channel to an old sluice gate. Shortly, cross the stile on your right and head towards a house on a narrow path beside the creek.  The two brick buildings you can see across the creek are old salt boiling houses. Shallow-draught lighters brought coal up the creek, known as Moses Dock, for the furnaces and returned loaded with salt.

* Just before a stile, bear left and continue to a lane. Turn right here to visit the Chequers Inn. The Chequers’ existence is closely linked with the salt industry. As well as being well-placed to serve the thirsty salt workers on their way home,
it was where the outgoing salt was checked for tax purposes, hence its name.

* Retrace your steps and keep to the lane to its end by some cottages. Continue to another lane and turn left. Follow it round a sharp right bend and walk beside Pennington Marshes. Where the lane ends, go straight ahead by a gate and follow the track through the old saltings and beside Keyhaven Marshes to the harbour wall in Keyhaven.