When I first visited the UK, Fordingbridge was one of the first small villages I visited. For those who do not know, Fordingbridge is a village in the New Forest in Hampshire in the south of England, and it is about a twenty minute drive to Salisbury. I had a friend here, and I went to stay with him and his family from time to time while I was living in north London. At the end of last month, I went back to visit for the first time in over twenty years, and all of those memories flooded back to me.
Fordingbridge is a very old village, and its most characteristic picture is the bridge. In fact, that is how the village gets its name. It means "bridge over the ford". The water levels are shallow here. On warm summer days, a lot of people hang out here and wade in the water.
A little further up the river, the water gets narrower and a bit deeper.
I stayed for three days in Fordingbridge. On the first night, my friend took me to the Italian restaurant La Lambretta. This Italian restaurant is fairly new to the village, and I enjoyed the pasta and starter and dessert. My friend had the pizza.
On one other night, we went to the Indian restaurant, known as Raj of India. This is under new management, and I always remember it being busy. This was the first Indian restaurant that I ever visited. I was not sure that I would like it, but Indian cuisine is one of my main cuisines now. I enjoyed seeing the village at dusk and dark, which also brought back memories of walking around.
One other memory was getting the bus into Salisbury. I remember seeing the fields of rabbits (hares) on the way, but new houses had been built on one of the fields. There were always wonderful views.
On the last day, I had Sunday lunch at the pub on the bridge, The George. I sat outside with views over the water.
I had roast chicken, which came with all of the Sunday roast vegetables.
The brownie was for dessert.
From Fordingbridge, there are some walks through the New Forest, and there are the wild New Forest ponies.
I liked this Victorian or Edwardian-style house in Fordingbridge.
I will visit my friend again sometime and hang out more and do some more walking in the New Forest. Fordingbridge is a good base for exploring the New Forest or having a day in Salisbury.
Leave a comment