In 1914, a convalescent hospital opened at Barton on Sea. It started in a hotel and was for Indian soldiers, wounded during the Great War. At first, it was the cause of great disruption in the seaside town but, soon, the Indian soldiers became part of the community. They even performed in theatrical shows for anyone to come and watch.
In 1917, an obelisk was erected, honouring these soldiers and remembering the hospital. There’s an excellent piece about it here. We saw the obelisk today on a visit to Barton on Sea. It’s opposite this weird little house.
Behind the house, in the photo above, is the Beachcomber café which opens every day (except Christmas Day) at 9am and closes when they run out of customers. We took some refreshment there after walking along the cliff edge in the opposite direction.
As you can see from the photograph, it was a splendid day today. Not a single sign of rain and a very blue sky. The perfect day to visit a seaside town.
Mind you, it was mid-afternoon by the time we headed out.
Being a Wednesday meant it was Cleaners Day. And the cleaners were late. I don’t know why, but they arrived an hour and a half later than usual. Of course, this impacted Mirinda who had taken the dogs for a walk and returned while they were still at the house. We wound up sitting in the back garden because the girls had muddy paws.
The muddy paws were the result of the vast amount of standing water everywhere and the dogs’ need to walk through it. Still, the weather allowed us to sit outside for the first time since we arrived back in January. Which was enjoyable.
But, back to Barton on Sea which appears to be a lovely seaside town, favoured by dog walkers and adorned with marvellous views of cliffs and the Isle of Wight.
But it’s not just dog walkers who were enjoying Barton this afternoon. There was also a member of the Wessex Hang Gliding and Paragliding Club. Clearly this person had had the necessary induction as prescribed by the New Forest Council who have deemed the area unsafe for anyone who has NOT had the training.
Watching the single person swooping and swirling, I understand why you’d need to know what you were doing.
As Mirinda said, it looked like great fun.
All in all, a delightful way to wile away a couple of hours.
