May 4, 2018 — Old Sarum and New Forest
We love Edward Rutherfurd’s books so wanted to see Sarum and New Forest, both were titles of his books.
04.05.2018 - 05.05.2018
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Southwest England and Northern England
on Beausoleil's travel map.
Patisserie Valerie in Salisbury
Woke earlier today and walked downtown to Patisserie Valerie for breakfast. Stopped at the Tourist Office on the way home and got maps and information . . . which I then forgot to take with us.
Temptations at Patisserie Valerie in Salisbury
From the Entrance to Old Sarum.
Got the car and headed out to Old Sarum that we’d read about in Edward Rutherfurd’s book “Sarum.” We parked, joined the English Heritage Society and entered the ruined castle. It is a complete ruin but the views are spectacular. We covered most of it and headed south to New Forest, subject of another Rutherfurd book. As we entered the park, we started seeing animals wandering freely . . . donkeys, horses, cows and a few pigs. We stopped at the Green Dragon Pub for lunch. It is a thatch-roofed pub in the park, beautiful and friendly. We had two donkeys in the front yard as we ate. Ed got fish and chips and I got the sea bass . . . both very good.
Old Sarum, Castle Rd, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP1 3SD; tel: +44 (0)3703 331181; English Heritage Web Site for Old Sarum
The Green Dragon Pub, B3079, Brook, Hampshire SO43 7HE; tel: +44 (0)2380 813359; greendragon@wadworth.co.uk; The Green Dragon Pub web site
Ruins at Old Sarum near Salisbury
Ruins at Old Sarum near Salisbury
View from Old Sarum
Remains of the Cathedral at Old Sarum near Salisbury
Salisbury Cathedral from Old Sarum
Donkeys stopping traffic in the New Forest
Pony in the New Forest
The Green Dragon Pub in the New Forest
From the window of The Green Dragon Pub
The New Forest -- traffic stopped for cows on the road
Cows resting on the verge near Beaulieu
We originally left looking for the New Forest Museum in Lyndhurst but traffic got nasty so we decided on Beaulieu Abbey instead. We found Beaulieu and parking but no abbey and wandered through the very pretty town looking for both castle and abbey. We found the castle but not the entrance and couldn't even find a sign to the Abbey. It showed very clearly on our map but somehow none of the roads seemed to get us there.
Palace House in Beaulieu
High Street in Beaulieu in the New Forest
High Street, Beaulieu
Tourists meeting donkeys in the New Forest
We eventually gave up and decided on Buckler’s Hard instead. Garmin, our GPS, got us on a one-lane road to nowhere and we finally turned back and found the historic village but it was twenty minutes to closing so we decided to call it a day and fight the traffic back home. We've been a little surprised at how heavy traffic is here.
Made it and had a very light dinner at Cafè Rouge and plan on lots of sleep tonight. Tomorrow we set off for Cornwall.
Posted by Beausoleil 11:30 Archived in United Kingdom Tagged uk sarum old_sarum new_forest rutherfurd beaulieu
Yes, the traffic can be heavy in popular rural destinations in the summer, and the roads weren't really built for it. A shame you missed Bucklers Hard - it's very picturesque. But you have some lovely photos of Old Sarum and the New Forest
We like the Patisserie Valerie chain too - good choice! We have one in Ealing and usually shorten it to 'Pat Val' 
by ToonSarah