Much of the UK experienced some very hot weather in July, weeks of sunshine and muggy conditions bringing out the sandals and making it hard to sleep. That being the case, it’s typical that when my parents invited me on an open top bus tour of the New Forest, it absolutely poured down. The New Forest Tours are really quite a good deal. £14 may seem a bit pricey to start with, but you can jump on and off any of the three routes at any time for a limited period.

I got kicked by a pony yesterday. Don’t laugh. We wanted to make the most of our last day of freedom before I return to the drudgery of the workplace, so we decided to go to Beaulieu. Mostly to see the cars, but the other stuff looked interesting as well. Here are some photos - they’re not great, I’m saving the best for the Photo Blog: Once we’d done at Beaulieu, we de-toured to have a squint at The New Forest.