To Chewton Bunny from Milford on Sea and return

We walked the leg of coast path to the west of this one (over the county boundary in Dorset) on a bitterly cold day last December. In contrast, today the weather was slightly too hot for walking, and I was particularly aware of the need to avoid blisters, after suffering somewhat after our more recent walk on the England Coast Path from Seaham in County Durham.  We were in the area to combine some walking with a visit to see my niece who is living in the house that was my sister's  further along the coast in Hythe, but we had the whole of today free. Our journey from Milton Keynes was rather slow, but as we very much enjoyed driving across the New Forest, and we did wonder if it would have been better to stop for a walk there, in the shade. However, we'd planned to park at Milford on Sea and walk along the coast from there, so that was where we went. 

Parking on the coast in Dorset in summer is, if not cheap, less expensive than in Hampshire (and both are very much cheaper out of season) and the Hordle Cliff car park was very convenient and had both toilets and a refreshment kiosk, though we didn't need the latter because we'd stopped at the Rownhams Service area on the M27. The Hordle Cliff car park is up on a cliff above the beach, with very good views across to the western end of the Isle of Wight and the Needles. We headed off to the west on a tarmacked footpath, but before too long the tarmacked path came to an end and we continued on a rough path.

It's worth saying that, although  we were following the E9 and there were lots of other people on the path, it is not the official route of the England Coast Path, which isn't in place yet in this area. They wouldn't be able to find a route any closer to the sea, but the cliff is eroding and I can imagine they may be hoping to move the path further away, for safety. There are signs highlighting the danger of going too close to the edge, and we were certainly careful to do so. However, it was a pleasant walk. We were looking for somewhere to stop for a break and eventually we found a few benches and stopped for an early lunch sitting on one of them. The only issue was that it faced away from the sea! Instead, we had views to the golf course that runs alongside the path; OK, but I'd have preferred to look at the sea.

We reached the edge of  the coastal village of Barton on Sea, and followed Marine Drive to the centre, eyeing up ice cream stops for our return journey. We thought that our route might continue at a lower level, beneath part of the cliff, so we descended, only to discover that the lower route that might once have continued from here is now well and truly closed - so we had to climb back up to the cliff top. However, there is a wide grassy area between Marine Drive and the coast, so we were able to walk well away from the road, and with lovely coastal views, including to Christchurch Harbour in the distance and, nearer at hand, to the beach just on the other side of Walkford Brook (Chewton Bunny). 

Unfortunately you can't access the east side of Chewton Bunny, because the Naish Hoburne Holiday Park gets in the way. On the outward journey we followed as close as we could to the route of the E9 as shown on the OS map. Thus we went as far west as we could, before heading inland on a narrow fenced (and hence rather muddy) path along the edge of the holiday park. Soon this lead onto a meandering path through housing. Initially it was nothing special, but the final section to the main A337 was very pleasant, still close to houses, but attractively wooded. We walked along the road, passing the entrance to the Holiday Park and passing the sign which indicated we were leaving Hampshire; then there we were back where we'd been in December, on the bridge above Chewton Bunny, with views down to Walkford Brook.

Time to turn around. On the return leg, we followed the same wooded path through the houses, but we then cut across to and down Seaview Road back to the coast. In the centre of Barton on Sea we stopped for an ice-cream; the shop was doing a roaring trade, and while eating our ice-creams outside the shop we fell into conversation with a brave woman who had taken her wheelchair bound (and fairly out of it) partner AND a dog out for a walk, despite the fact she was not used to handling the wheelchair.  The only other notable change on the return leg was the presence of an attractive group of cows and a bull alongside the coast path on Hordle Cliff.