We decided to walk from Milford-on-Sea to the Chequers pub via Keyhaven on the Coastal path.
Firstly, it's flat.
Secondly, there is plenty of wildlife, even for a non-twitcher to appreciate
and thirdly, the scenery is stunning.
As I say it's an easy, flat route and the views make it special - on one side you're looking out across the water to the Isle of Wight, while on the other the forest stretches away to the horizon. One of the nicest things is that the forest almost comes down to the coast and we saw New Forest ponies grazing right by the sea.
From Milford-on-Sea we headed towards the small picturesque village of Keyhaven overlooking The Solent with views towards Hurst Castle and the Isle of Wight. Once at Keyhaven follow the Solent Way along the harbour wall heading east.
Turn right through a kissing gate. Remain on the good shingle path close to the foreshore. This is part of the 60 mile long Solent Way passing the Pennington Marshes. The marshes form part of a nature reserve that offers a mosaic of habitats from coastal grazing marshes, shallow brackish lagoons to tidal mudflats and salt marshes. The reserve is an important stop-off for migrating birds in spring and autumn and a major breeding site for common sandwich and little terns.
For hundreds of years, and maybe as far back as Roman times, the coastline between Keyhaven and Lymington was a thriving centre for the production of salt. Sea water was allowed to flow into the salterns - areas of land divided into small shallow ponds only about three inces deep - where it was left to partially evaporate, forming a strong brine solution (a mix of salt and water). This was then pumped by windmill into storage tanks before being dried in large metal boiling pans to produce salt crystals. During its heyday, there were numerous salt workings along the five mile stretch of coastline, with each salt pan producing around three tons of salt per week.
You will also pass a 2nd World War Jetty and in the distance you can see hundreds of masts of the boats at Lymington.
Ignore all paths inland, your sea wall path skirting Oxey Marsh before heading west beside a channel to an old sluice gate. Shortly, cross the stile on your right and head towards a house on a narrow path beside the creek. the two brick buildings you can see across the creek are old salt boiling housesat Moses Dock - all that remains of the once thriving salt production.
Moses Dock, is one of several narrow inlets, and was constructed to allow barges to dock and off load coal for the boiling houses and to export the salt. The old brick buildings on the eastern side of the inlet are the last two remaining salt boiling houses that used to house some of the boiling pans. Cheaper, mined salt, forced the closure of the last saltern in the 1860s.
Just before a stile, bear left and continue to a lane. Turn right here to visit The Chequers Inn. Ridgeway Lane, S041 8AH.
The name for this 17th century Inn comes from the fact that this Inn was once the salt exchequer, where tax was collected on the salt produced nearby. There were as many as 163 salt pans around the area in the 18th century, producing 4,600 tons of salt between 1724 and 1766.
An excellent walk with one of England's loveliest views punctuated by lunch in the Chequers.
Getting back:-
Either continue on to Lymington and catch the bus back to Milford-on-Sea.
Return the same way but with a fabulous view of the Needles, I.O.W
Or walk up the lane to Pennington and catch the bus home.
