It’s a quick drive down to the coast at Calshot Castle with views of the Fawley Power Station towers to my left. Finally, I can see the sea peeping through the beach huts and park up in an empty car park, pay the fee and walk through the huts to the beach.

Straight ahead I can see land – the Isle of Wight is super close from this spot! Feels almost like you could skim a stone across!

I turn left and wander down the road towards the Calshot activity centre and the start of my walk.  Today I am walking alone, which is a novelty I quite enjoy.

At the lifeboat station I can see across Southampton Water (which the rivers Test, Itchen and Hamble all flow into) over to Warsash where we finished our walk a few weeks ago. I can also see the Spinnaker Tower at Portsmouth in the distance.

My coastal walk starts skirting round the edge of Calshot Castle built many years ago by Henry VIII to protect against invasion by the French, which is looking rather good for its age. I pass a hangar where they used to repair flying boats during World War II.

The walk along the stony beach is framed on the right by brightly painted beach huts and on the left by ferries heading to Yarmouth and the beautiful tree clad hills of West Wight..

A brief chat to a couple of beach hut owners reveals that you can keep walking a little way along the beach toward the Cadland Estate so I continue my way in the rain along the beach.

I find a strand of sand between the pebbles to walk along, there are no footprints to follow. The view is now framed by trees coming right down to the beach edge. My perfect combination – tree meets beach. I pass an impressive gatehouse with steps leading down to the beach then abruptly stop at a fence blocking the whole beach. A Cadland Estate sign reveals that this is a SSSI Natural England protected rare habitat of vegetated shingle.  Here can be found the world highest concentration of little robin and the last Portland spurge in Hampshire as well as ring plovers, oystercatchers, rare lichen and the short haired bumblebee.

I have no alternative but to retrace my footsteps in the sand back to my car. I drive the few miles around the Cadland Estate to Lepe Country Park.

On arrival at the car park the view of the Isle of Wight is framed by some stunning architectural pine trees. Grabbing a large cone, I head down the steps to the visitor centre. I am just a year too early to experience the new visitor centre with glass windows on stilts looking out to sea but the old cafe serves me a delicious hot chocolate to take away and I head west towards Lower Exbury and the Beaulieu River.

Again, my solitary walk appears to have no companions as I pass by The Watch House jutting out to sea and the gorgeous little lighthouse hidden amongst the shrubbery. It turns out this quaint little lighthouse, called the Beaulieu River millennium beacon, was built just seventeen years ago to help guide sailors… and also features in the last ever episode of one of my favourite tv programmes – Catastrophe.

The tide is thankfully out and I continue along the stony beach admiring the amazing pine trees hugging the low cliff. One clump of trees has half its roots exposed with some reaching right out to the beach. I fear the nights tough high tide could pull these over into the sea.

The road soon joins back up with the coast and I choose to follow it for a bit before wandering down the footpath towards Lower Exbury House and Farm. The end of the path turns private and I take a picture of the view towards the River Beulieu before retracing my steps.

I wander back towards Lepe Country Park, this time on the road where I spend a lot of the time looking up at the incredible pine trees. Back at my car I strip off my now soaking clothes and turn on the cars heating to dry me out.