HURST CASTLE

Wednesday Sept. 18th 2019

Today when the sun came up, 2 hours after I got up, I saw like yesterday a cloudless, blue sky.  With no specific trips planned for today, I spoke to Sue next door to find how I could walk to the Hurst Castle.  After finding out how to get there from here and how simple it was I headed out for a day of walking.  I could have driven down to the marina a couple miles from here and taken a really small boat to the castle.  No challenge there.  So I walked down the street next to the house here, past a corn field and a grazing field with dark brown sheep (2 white) and past hedges of mature blackberries of which I picked and ate several.  I came upon what they call "the shingle spit" which is basically a huge seawall of stone to protect the coastline from further erosion.  I walked on top of this spit down to the castle.  They say it is 1-1/2 miles.  It was a bit tough walking but I had all day and the sun was warm and there was a cool breeze.  
I went in to the front entrance of the castle and there was Bob, Sue's husband who I rent my room from.  Apparently he works there 2 mornings a week.  Not driving because of Parkinsons, Bob rides his bicycle to the ferry at the marina to go to work.
We had about 1/2 hr. together talking about this whole area where he has lived for 40 years.
I did a walk around the castle reading about all its' history from being built by Henry XIII in 1480 until its' use during WWII as a military stronghold.  The best part was standing at the very top where it was quiet and serene and the amazing vistas.
Needless to say being up at 3:30, walking for about 4 hours in the sun warranted a nap when I returned to my room at 2:30.
I planned to pick up fish n chips from the legendary "Mr. Pinks" just down the road here.  He's open 6 days/week from 5pm until 8:30pm and always a line out the door being a take out only place.  It reminded me of the "Soup Nazi" place on Seinfeld where you walk up to the counter when it is your turn, place your order, pay in cash only and immediately move aside for the next customer until they package up your order.  It was very, very good.
 Tomorrow, my last full day in Milford I am going 2 hrs. away to view the Jurassic Coast. 
Today was a very nice day.

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