Milford on Sea

Monday was a bank holiday here in England and so we decided to take advantage of the warm weather and get out and explore. We headed to Hurst castle in, well near, Milford on Sea. It was a lovely winding, tree lined two hour drive from Swindon, which we stopped half way through at a funny little pub with witty quotes written above the bar. My tomato soup here was thick like pasta sauce and tasted a little like it also, it sounds odd but actually tasted pretty good. When we arrived at our destination parking was at a bit of a premium and so we ended up in the bushes practically, heading toward a walking trail of some sort. As we knew we had to catch a ferry to get to the actual castle and as we were unsure where said ferry was we decided to walk the trail as ways to see if that was where it lead, it wasn't. Despite this discovery we did walk along the trail a ways to enjoy the breeze and the sunshine. About five minutes into our walk the question was posed "What is that smell?", to which I replied, "I don't know but it is fantastic". We had been catching wafts of an aroma that I can only say smelled a little like pina colada, virgin of course but I was unable to pin point what exactly was creating it. We came across a large flowering bush hanging over the fence lining our path and I decided to test if it was these that were producing the scent, so I leaned my face into the thickest bunch of them and inhaled deeply. I made two important discoveries in that instant, first it was this delightful flower that smelled so nice and second that the thorns on these flowers made roses look huggable. Which I suppose teaches me that even the most desirable things come at a bit of a cost. I have no idea what type of flower they were, should anyone know please pass it on, they were possibly the most delicious smelling flora I have ever enjoyed.

We did finally find the little ferry that would take us out to the castle and before long were looking through the old building. We learned that the original structure was built in 1500's but over the next many hundred years was added to and was actually in use until 1956 after the end of WWII. It spent some of it's life as a prison during the 1700's which is easy to understand as it surrounded by water with probably five miles of ocean between it and either coast. Not strictly an island as there were long narrow strips of land that you could walk on to get to the castle or back to shore once there. However an escapee or an on coming assault would be seen coming or going for almost the entire length.

Inside the castle walls there are many weapons and comforts that would have been used mostly in the buildings later life and it is easy to forget in some ways that it is as old as it is and not just a military compound. Something that has struck me often as I wander around this country and its cities is how untouched Canadian landscape was by the wars. Perhaps the memory stays more alive in a place where so many landmarks remain that were military forts and monuments. I have realized more than once that I stood on ground that saw and felt the effects of war, this place was one such place.

Interestingly I discovered something else inside the walls of the castle that I had not  expected, you can see one peeking at you from the bottom of this photo, palm trees. I thought I had spied some in the yards of some houses as we drove through Milford before reaching the coast but as I don't really think of England as having palm trees I brushed it off, but sure enough they they were growing all through the little courtyard.

Also on the same land mass as this castle was a sharp white house that is easy to understand why it would have been needed. Although it was not open for tourists to view you could get up close and walk around it. I was struck again that as much as I love the water I am not sure that these buildings would have been all that inviting as a place to live. I find that the romantic in me can't help but imagine what kind of men, and women I suppose, chose to make their lives so isolated from the rest of the world. You can understand the drive to discover ways to make much more automated systems so unfortunate souls would no longer be required to live in the cramped lonely spaces.

As anyone who really knows me would tell you, I have a large love affair with the ocean and I am somewhat sad to say that this was my first trip to the water since my arrival here. Because of this it is probably with some bias that I say that I thought this place was beautiful and haunting. I loved the ride out to the castle, I thought the building itself was interesting, and the view breathtaking but the best few minutes for me was when I was walking the coast, collecting seashells and enjoying the ocean air.