Lifestyle

Beach combing and Hurst Castle

A castle and time at the beach? It sounds like the perfect family outing, and it really was! Last weekend we headed to Hurst Castle, we managed to trek the children along the shingle bank with the promise of a picnic and a visit into the castle! It’s about 1.5miles each way, and Mr G carried Yo in the Bushbaby carrier as it isn’t a pushchair friendly walk!

The walk provided plenty of entertainment, as the boys gathered shells and bits of rope which had washed up on the shingle bank. We talked about all the rubbish which had washed up (an environmental awareness chat before 11am!), and warned them about make sure things were safe to touch before picking them up..!

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Beach combing for shells and things!

The castle has the most amazing views of the Solent, and has great displays detailing the role it played during the world wars. Most of the exhibitions were a little too old for our children, but they did find seeing the “big guns” and the search lights really interesting.

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Exploring the castle sparked the boys imaginations, getting them to think about what life might have been like for a soldier based there and how it has changed since it was built back in the 16th century.IMG_20150504_134558107

We managed to walk all the way back to, although somewhat slower and with the promise of ice-cream calling! There is a ferry which takes you back to Keyhaven, it’s reasonably priced (around £3 per adult and £2ish per child) and is well worth the journey as you get to see the castle from a different perspective. As the boys were so full of energy the walk was a great way to ensure a peaceful afternoon! We visited the castle using our English Heritage pass, it’s our third outing on the pass this year, so it’s already proving good value for us!

 

 

Dragons and Fairy Dust

One Comment

  • Alison

    What a fascinating castle. Those guns are so big, it really must make you think about the past. Thanks for linking to #outandabout