Well chums, we survived our first week as Wardens here at Roundhill in the New Forest. The rest of our uniform has finally arrived, all the gear and no idea, no change there then! We are lucky to be working with great people here. Coupled up with living in such a beautiful place, makes the job easy. How could you ever tire of this view from your office window.

Each day the long procession of ponies appears out of the trees. They come to drink and splash around in the pond outside the office. The little spindly legged foals are so comical leaping around in the water. The stallions have recently been released so the mares are quite frisky at present. It’s a pony lovers paradise. It was so touching yesterday to watch three little girls standing by the pond when the horses arrived. They were totally in awe and a little bit terrified as the mare and her foal wandered nonchalantly into the water right at the side of them. They stood frozen with their mouths open, absolutely thrilled. It was a special moment, fair brought a tear to my eye.

Every child should experience a holiday like this. Brings them back to basics, good, natural, old fashioned fun. I’m laid here now watching groups of them, all ages. Racing around on bikes, playing rounders and enjoying the freedom. Little girls sitting in circles making daisy chains. It’s a breath of fresh air. Parents are relaxing with a glass of wine, fairy lights and lanterns adorning their doorways, and the smell of smoky barbecued food fills the air. The site is very busy but never crowded. You can still find your own little corner of the forest. There’s a great vibe. Everyone is in holiday mood! We managed to keep the queues to a minimum today despite the number of cars and vans pouring in. Many people arrived late, weary after battling their way through endless traffic for hours with car loads of hot tired kids but they kept their smiles and we got them all booked in. Happy campers is what we want! We have a really good team here at Roundhill. They are friendly and fun and just get the job done.

On our day off this week we cycled across the old Beaulieu airfield and the Heath, past Hatchetts Pond,to Beaulieu Village. We had a lovely picnic beside the old mill and tidal river. It’s a quaint little spot. There’s a classic car hire place and of course the famous Motor Museum if cars are your pleasure.

The donkeys are cheeky little monkeys, they will have your lunch if you don’t keep your eye on them! Beaulieu Palace and the Abbey are worth a look. We found a smashing little farm shop on the road back and bought some fab local produce. A rather splendid looking chicken pie for supper, yum!

We’ve managed to get our cycle sprint into Brockenhurst down to 13 minutes so not too bad for the morning bread run! On the days we are on earlies I can bake in the afternoon. For our main groceries, Tesco and Waitrose Do home delivery to the site. We have it all sussed! Happy days. Hoping to see our Son, Matthew, very soon for a couple of days catch up. He owes me lunch at The Pig!

Time for a wee glass of something now my lovelies, we’ve earned it today! I’ll just share today’s funny. As Mark was bent over, legs spread wide, leaning into a car window assisting a camper, one of our ladies (referring to the young colt foal opposite) commented loudly how well hung he was. The crowd by the office all looked towards hubby’s nethers while we fell about laughing 😆. Never a dull one around here!

Have a fab weekend y’all! Hope the sun shines on you xxx