So ... where have I been today?

 
Round the twist.   

 
Hurst Castle

 

It isn't - though Hurst Castle is on my list to visit one day.

 
Fort Nelson ?

 


Not there either - goodness - are there a lot of these around?

 
Nothe Fort Weymouth?

 

Goodness - there ARE a lot of old guns around. No, not there either.

 
It's not near to a conventional current railway ... so a bit of a hard question. It may help if a give a wider clue - to the extent of giving the game away

 
This is the Old Needles Battery on the IoW.

 

Yes, it is - a fascinating day out with a dozen pieces of public transport and three significant walks totalling over 12 kms.   Not a single taxi or car (apart from those avoided as I crossed the road).  Quickest connection - Brockenhurst. Longest w-a-i-t at Westbury for the final train home.

 

Slightly different view......

 
I vaguely remembered this location from when (a long time ago) I, along with a group of my fellow undergrads, visited the area which is generally geologically very interesting but specifically to examine the multicoloured Alum Sands. I doubt there are many students of geology who haven't made the same trip over the years.

 
Melksham - Westbury
Westbury - Southampton
Southampton - Brockenhurst
Brockenhurst - Lymington Pier
Lymington Pier - Yarmouth IOW slipway
Yarmouth Bus Station - Alum Bay turning circle
Alum Bay walk up to New Battery and Old Battery
... and the whole thing in reverse

Longest waits - Westbury in both directions
Quickest changes - Brockenhust and Lymington Pier outbound
Most productive interchange - Southampton Central
Slowest part of journey - uphill walk to the batteries
Busiest trains - between Westbury and Southampton
Quietest train - Lymnington Pier to Lymington Town
Smallest "large" coffee - Westbury Station
Friendliest Staff - Old Battery
Least helpful staff - Lymington Pier
Most difficult request for information - "How do I get to Skegness"

 
Now if Grahame had shown the National trust food picture even without the Needles in the background I would have got it right first time.

 
...and of course Finn has visited the Old Battery.

 
He's clearly more impressed with that than he was with the Kelpies. 

 
There were also similar gun emplacements in Jersey.

Many years ago, long before the National Trust took it over, I clambered over a boundary wall and took a few pictures - sadly lost now, due to the demise of my previous laptop computer.

See here for the location. 

 
Grahame may have noted this.

 
Looking forward to your report from Skegness

 

That query was beyond the norm and I found myself wondering if the person involved needed help beyond just direction;  I made an observational judgement that the professional train crew were best placed to help as I left the last train of the day from Westbury to Melksham, advising the lady to stay on the train to Swindon.  If she was really headed for Skeggy, she would have been best to take a break and continue her journey in a more co-hearant manner the next day.

I *have* advised folks - preplanned - on Melksham to Boston (Lincs) in the past, and that's an interesting one for nervous folks who want to avoid huge city interchanges.  Change at Cheltenham Spa and Nottingham as I recall.

 

If I recall correctly, the old MoD test site for the Black Night rocket programme is still there, just around the corner.
That was a lost opportunity as apparently there was a choice of funding either this or Concorde.  Concorde won but was ultimately a costly, if impressive financial failure while the satellite launch industry (pun alert) really took off.  Black Night was reputedly at the forefront of technology at the time with both military and civilian applications.

 

Yep. Finn has inspected that site too.