Baggins......Shire......

Over the weekend had our first outing to "the English countryside". We went to Hampshire, which is a county located southwest of London, and yes there could be Hobbits there by the look of the houses in the area. After just a 40 minute train ride from Waterloo Station, we were in Hampshire. And countryside it was; you'd think we were hours outside of London instead of minutes. We had the best weather you could ask for, it may as well have been June instead of March.

OK don't be a hater, but we stayed at the Four Seasons Hampshire. Now, don't think I have become a hypocrite and casually abandoned my budget-travel ways, mais non! We got a "buy 2 nights get 1 free" deal that included free breakfast each day, a $100 meal credit, and a free room upgrade. My travel agency (Plaza Travel) is a preferred Four Seasons Partner, so our clients get these special deals and upgrades. Anywho, the Four Seasons was just as you would expect - perfect. Amazing service, great rooms, sweet pool/sauna/steam rooms to relax in, and all sorts of perks and extras (like free use of the hotel's mountain bikes). BUT, note that the restaurants and bars are not cheap.  And the spa was so expensive, I couldn't even look at the brochure. Still, it is an amazing hotel and would go back if I could get the deal again.

Look Ma - in the Contourwear wrap dress you bought me.

Dave playing casually snooty.

There was so much to see in the area, we didn't spend much time in the hotel. We spend most of the weekend biking along the Baskingstoke Canal trail, which is surprisingly similar to the IM Canal trail near my parent's house in Morris, IL - but slightly more scenic and with better pubs along the trail. There were farms, tiny towns, shops, restaurants, and churches - your usual countryside fare.

Sweet piggy.

Biking.

And more biking.

Two of my favorite sights along the canal were there ruins of Odiham Castle, which was constructed in the 13th century, and the remaining WWII-era concrete bunkers (pillboxes).  These bunkers were part of a defensive line in case of a German invasion from the north during WWII. Pretty cool.

Odiham Castle, sick.

 

WWII defensive pillboxes.

While not along the canal, I also loved All Saints Church in Dogmersfield. It was built in the 1840s.

Getting my old-church-fix on in Dogmersfield Village.

 

Lovely

We also hooked up (randomly) with one of Dave's coworkers and his VERY-pregnant wife, who just happened to also be staying at the hotel for the weekend. They sweetly invited us to have dinner with them at a Gastro-pub they knew of about 5 miles from the hotel. OMG how nice was that! It was a treat to talk to someone other than Dave at dinner.......ha ha.

We drove down the darkest roads ever to get to the restaurant. We all thought we had bad directions, but no - there it was The Gameskeeper. OK, I have been to so-called Gastro-pubs in London before. They are generally not so good; HOWEVER, this place rocked. The owner was our waiter for the night, and he was so passionate when describing each dish, we didn't know what to pick. We ended up having local cheeses, pork belly, venison, house-made sausage, lamb hot-pot, etc......all made with local ingredients and everything was cooked exactly as you wanted. I HIGHLY recommend that place.

I'll leave you with a final artsy photo. This is what happens when we are left to entertain ourselves in the country. Those poshy Brits at the hotel didn't know what to think of us......

Don't ask......