Animals On The Road

This afternoon Jackie drove us on a tour of the east of The New Forest.

Ponies

The first stop was just outside Sway, where I spotted an attractive looking pony. Once out of the car and approaching my prey, I found there was another family member emerging from the gorse bush, some of which still adhered to my chosen subject, who had the decency to take her head out of the bush and pose for me.

Cyclists under bridge

Brockenhurst has quite an important railway station. Bridges are therefore found over the approach roads. As I prepared to take the first of these shots, I noticed two cyclists coming into view, paused, and clicked a few times.

Railway Bridge

The house on the left of this image is a comparatively recent building, and demonstrates an affinity for the area. The car approaching the bridge has its headlights on, as do many when driving through the forest.

Little Popes

On Roger Penny Way, just beyond Cadnam, stands the epitome of chocolate box thatched cottages.

Stream at Little Popes

A stream, here providing refreshment for a fluttering white dove, runs alongside and in front of

Little Popes garden

the idyllic country garden.

Sheep on road 1

Further along, at Burwash, we encountered a flock of sheep lazing on the road.

Sheep on road 2

 In stepping out to make their acquaintance I disturbed them enough to cause them to take off down the road,

Sheep on road 3

leaving evidence of their fright peppering the tarmac.

Donkeys 1

Nearing sunset, back on Roger Penny Way, a pair of donkeys were oblivious of the local rush hour traffic,

Donkeys 2

until they left the the road across which they cast their lengthy shadows.

Sunset 1Sunset 2

Tethering Drove in Hale Purlieu. Now there is a place with a name that deserves to host a decent sunset or two.

Sunset 3Sunset 4

There were more possibilities at Woodgreen.

Sunset 3 – Version 2

As the ponies cropped the grass, I cropped the first of these last two pictures.

This evening we dined on oven fish and chips, mushy peas, pickled onions, and cornichons. Jackie’s choice of beer was Hoegaarden, and mine, Old Speckled Hen.

48 comments

  1. Your photos of the chocolate box cottages and idyllic country garden remind me of the very popular works of the American painter, Thomas Kinkade.

    I love the word “purlieu.”

  2. I adore your travels about the English countryside. I feel like I’m in the car with you and Jackie. Some day I must hunt down Hoegaarden and have a taste. As for Tethering Drove in Hale Purlieu, not only a lovely spot for a sunset but a name worthy of a poem, or at least a limerick or two.

  3. I was thinking of how you had managed to fit in so many images of the things that make England such a unique country and then you went and finished with fish and chips and mushy peas!! Brilliant 🙂

  4. You really make me want to go back to England again for a visit! The light in England and Ireland is so different from that in the States. You capture the magic so well.

  5. My gosh, a feast for the eyes at every turn. You live in a story book Derrick. It looks as though boo-peep might pop out from one of those wonderful thatched cottages at any moment. I’ve always had a soft heart for burrows. I hope these two are well loved. x B

  6. So much in your post today—horses, sheep, cottages, and glorious sunsets. Thanks for sharing.

      1. Today, I Googled where New Forest was so that I could place it on a map of England. Nice to have a sense of where those beautiful photos come from. Jane Austen country? Also, Gilbert White?

          1. Oh, I love England. I’ve been there once, to North Yorkshire to visit friends, and I was immediately smitten. Funny how a Maine girl can be so drawn to another place.

Leave a Reply