Yes I may have stolen that line from a Taylor Swift song… but the title is just perfect for this post. I wanted to tell you about the walks I’ve been going on recently, especially the beautiful autumnal walks that have inspired me to write this blogpost. I think we all got that cabin fever whilst in lockdown (how ever many lockdowns there were!?) me personally that was what I looked forward to was getting outside and going on walks. Me and my boyfriend live separately at the moment and the only way Covid would allow us to see each other was outside, this became a routine thing where we would plan to go somewhere different each time for a walk and often we would take our cameras and make a date out of it. This was a great way to discover new places (one thing we thank Covid for!), I think by far our favourite place to visit now is Dibden Inclosure which is situated in the beautiful New Forest! If you are ever down Hampshire way I have a few recommendations that I will share, but if you haven’t been to the New Forest it’s a must! Not only for beautiful walks, but it’s renown for camping, wedding venues, little towns surrounding that have independent shops and cafes and horse riding there is stunning!
I think it’s really important to get out on a walk and it can be really beneficial to lightening up your mood especially in these colder, darker months. Here are a few of my top tips for having an enjoyable walk…
- Go with good company such as a friend or a partner. It’s something nice that you can do together and explore new places together or take the other person to somewhere you know and love but they haven’t been before.
- If you’re not going with someone pop in some earphones and pop on your favourite podcast or favourite music. Make a routine out of it and go in the later mornings when it isn’t dark.
- Bring a hot drink with you say a coffee or hot chocolate or if there is somewhere nearby that you can treat yourself. We normally carry a flask and have some nice warm coffee with us.
- Make it fun! Me and my boyfriend like to bring our cameras with us so we can look back on photos and are normally competitive with each other with creative photo ideas! In previous lockdowns we’ve also brought an open tent which is quite nice in the summer on the beach or can shield from windy cold days and have brought a picnic blanket with lots of yummy food and if you haven’t driven to the place you could always have a cheeky can of something or if you’re feeling fancy those little bottles of Prosecco!
- If you’re not going to prepare food and drink there’s always the option of exploring the area around your walks where you can find independent cafes and restaurants maybe where you haven’t been before. This would also be supporting local and small businesses! I love discovering cute little cafes and restaurants.
Just going to share with you my top places to go to for walks if you are ever in the Hampshire area…
- Dibden inclosure – Just on the outskirts of the new forest a really lovely forest walk to explore! I think they even do a pop up caravan where they sell cakes and coffees there but nearby is a town called Lyndhurst where there is little shops for nick nacks and cute little cafes and restaurants if you are feeling peckish.
- Riverside Park, Southampton – I often go for a run down here as they have a pathway back and forth down the river. If your going for an evening walk there is even a nice pub down the end called The Swan for dinner and drinks.
- Southampton Common- Again I often go running down here and they do park runs every Saturday which I try to attend to (more on that in my running post coming soon!). They also have a cafe called The Hawthorns and a lovely pub called The Cowherds which is so nice and cosy at the moment with its log fire burning!
- Weston shore/Royal Victoria Country Park – If you’re looking for a short walk you can head down to Weston Shore which is a stoney beach looking across Southampton waters. It is at its best in the summer but also can be nice for winter too! If you want a longer walk you can head down further into Royal Victoria Country park where this has many wooded areas. Before you get there, there is also Netley Ruins which dates back to the war which is interesting to see which parts of the castle are left behind. What is also interesting is that when you get to Royal Victoria country park there is the Royal Victoria Hospital museum that you can go inside and discover more about the history of the hospital that was there again dating back to the war. Many things to look at in there if you are a fan of history. There also is a lovely cafe where you can get hot drinks from and in summer they normally have the ice cream vans there! Yum!
- Forest of Bere/ Hundred Acre Wood, Wickham – This is a forest walk near the little village of Wickham. Has many paths to go down exploring different parts of the wooded area. Many little villages surrounding this including Wickham, Swanmore and Bishop’s Waltham.
- Portchester Castle – This is an historical place to go visit. Lovely castle surrounded by its own little moat and you can walk along the beach with stunning views of the Spinnaker Tower, especially at night time is really lovely for sunset views! Also the walk down from Portchester castle has lovely little houses all down which personally I’m a sucker for looking at people’s houses especially when they are cute little cottages.
I’ve lived where I’ve lived for many years now and I don’t think I would have discovered all these places if Covid hadn’t forced me to go outside! I want to carry on in future going on these walks it really boosts my mood and I feel great afterwards. Exercise, fresh air and beautiful scenery what more could you want! So if I haven’t influenced you to go on walks, I don’t know what will! Give it a try you won’t regret it I assure you and it’s great discovering all these new places!
Thank you for taking the time to read my new post from my scrapbook I hope you enjoyed it!
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Where are your favourite places to explore? Will you be doing more walks now?
Leave a comment down below and let me know what you think of the first post of my scrapbook! Thanks 🙂
Charlotte's Scrapbook 