new forest, purbeck and poole

arriving at the Beaulieu estate in Hampshire after a slap up breakfast at tescos in Reading, i quickly set to find a put in point for my canoe.. at buckler's hard marina.

it was a fine day for tides, sunshine and breezes.. excitement and anticipation was making me rush, as i had never paddled in this part of england before.

after speaking to the harbour master i was able to aclimatise to the local waters, initally getting lost in marshland i headed upstream to check out the Beaulieu abbey.. the golf umbrella came out and instantly got a few laughs as i glided past yachts and cruisers just under the power of wind. "oh look george! can i take your photo, mr mad canoeist?" :)

i wasnt in a rush to get to the top of the river so i moored in a inlet and read some more of the dalai lama's latest. a group of kayakers passed and noted how at home i looked chillin in the bottom of my boat with my feet in the water.

on reaching the abbey i couldnt paddle any further due to a weir and as low tide was well on its way, i found it difficult to get a decent paddle stroke..
so after a brief stretch i set off using the tide and wind to take me back to bucklers hard.. mostly just steering the 2 miles back to the marina.

once back on land, i collected my car, and packed up my kit.. then it was just a short journey to poole, the following days destination.