Upton Down

Garry Shandling died yesterday. He was only 66. How much we loved Larry Sanders. We’ll missed you, Garry.

Rather than be sad we decided to head down to the sea. Milford-on-Sea to be precise. So we packed the dogs into Max and away we went.

Freya could hardly contain her excitement…or keep her eyes open.

There was quite a lot of traffic on the motorway, as you’d expect on Good Friday but generally the drive down wasn’t too bad. It helped that we avoided the motorway as much as we could.

Eventually we pulled into a car park overlooking the English Channel and off loaded two very enthusiastic puppies. A combination of not liking long car drives and having never seen (or smelled) the sea had them all excited.

And what a perfect day for it.

We’ve not been to Milford before. Although the beach isn’t sand, there’s a lovely walk all along the coast. And while many other people had the same idea as us, the path wasn’t overly crowded.

There were a lot of dogs and our two had a splendid time meeting and greeting. Obviously we kept a closer eye on Freya given her commencement of breeding possibilities but other than one over inquisitive dog, she was sexually ignored.

Having strolled quite a way we decided to head inland, checking out possible retirement options a few streets back from the sea.

We ended up in the delightfully dog friendly Red Lion for a pint and a half. And two dog biscuits which are kept behind the bar for just such occasions.

We bought lunch then walked back to the beach to sup with the black faced gulls and scores of other like minded people. Although a bit breezy, the day remained beautiful.

After lunch we collected Max and headed home via a few small New Forest towns/villages, checking out other possible walking places within reach of home.

The drive back was pretty much clear all the way with the traffic jams heading south.

It was a lovely day.