Today we drive to the New Forest, a national park on the south coast of England. In Milford on Sea we walk up and down the beach, again in beautiful sunshine. It’s just a bit windy – but that’s often the case at the sea. It is relaxing to watch the people swimming and enjoying themselves. For us, the water would be much too cold. In front of us is the Isle of Wight, which is particularly close to the English mainland here.

The national park is known for its wild horses. And indeed we see many free-roaming horses, donkeys and cows. Sometimes they even stroll onto the road. Fortunately, LucY also brakes for animals. And suddenly the vegetation is completely different: it resembles a barren steppe with small bushes. And here, too, the animals walk around freely. They are definitely my highlight of the day.

Then we arrive at Calshot Beach, which it is also supposed to be very beautiful. In any case, there are many colourful beach huts, well over a hundred. It’s a pity that we can’t take a look inside many. They are a real little summer residences with a dining table, kitchenette and of course everything you need for a day at the beach. So it’s not surprising that we can’t find a place to have lunch, apart from a tiny, suspicious café. In the end, it’s a sandwich at a supermarket car park we’re having.

So we head over to the forest. There are over a hundred different tree species in the Blackwater Arboretrum. The Sequoia trees are particularly impressive. These ones and the Redwoods are the tallest trees in England – and yet only a fraction as tall as the General Sherman Tree, which we had marvelled at on our 2016 trip to the USA. In any case, we enjoy the peace and quiet of the forest.

On the way back, we get a nice chicken platter at Nando’s, which we then devour in the hotel room, with chips, corn on the cob, peas and garlic bread.