At the end to a busy week, we left behind the bustling streets and bright lights of London and headed towards endless fields, wild horses and sweet fresh air – that’s right, we were on our way to the beautiful New Forest.
Last year, we enjoyed a relaxing stay at The Master Builder’s (of which you can read about here), we loved it so much that we decided to return and enjoy the delights of this hotel during a different season.
There’s a plethora of insightful history filling the walls of this traditional hotel, and just opposite, on the banks of the River Beaulieu, is where some of the ships that fought in the battle of Trafalgar were launched.
So as you can imagine, the views from the hotel are just idyllic; and a special moment was spent with Aperol Spritz in hand, sunset ahead and the river lapping softly nearby.
Whilst we were in the New Forest we wanted to take full advantage of the countryside and bike-safe paths intertwining through the fields (London cycling is a near death trap!), so we rented bikes (check out where, here) and embarked on our journey. Helmets on, excitement flowing when five minutes into the cycle, we came across an extremely small field containing 20 cows and 20 horses. The only other way was back to where we had started, so I had no option but to weave in and out of the cattle to get through the field. London may be a death trap on a bike due to the traffic, but at this moment I would have preferred that to what lay ahead of us; I’m petrified of cows (despite growing up in the country) so as you can imagine there was a bit of drama! Anyway, field was survived, body still in tact, (almost) and the rest of the cycle experience was gorgeous!
Dinning at the Master Builder’s was on another level; the food was delicious and so aesthetically pleasing – we had such a wonderful evening. A special touch was when the head chef came out of the kitchen and met all of the guests asking how everyone enjoyed their food. We had a good old chat with him and he really does care about all feedback, which is always the sign of a great chef.
After a pleasant sleep in our classic room, we enjoyed breakfast on the terrace outside with the birds tweeting, the river view ahead and a great menu for my favourite meal of the day!
Thank you so much for having us Master Builder’s, once again we had a fantastic time.
*Gifted stay but all opinions are of my own.