The Old Post Office

more about this place...

A parcel of seaside loveliness, this house is great for anyone who likes to be out and about. You are on the coastal walk trail here and 2 hours meander to the east will take you along pebble beaches, past marinas, bird reserves, freshwater lakes, into the town. 

In summer the lane in front is popular for cyclists and walkers passing by. It’s a short walk to vast pebbly beaches, with secret sandy bits that are revealed as the tide retreats. The house is a stone’s throw from smarty-pants Lymington, and even closer to the quirky, foodie little village of Milford on Sea.

The house is beautifully presented for guests. We said sleek and chic and we’ll say it again. If you like matching and considered design, then this is the place for you. It’s our least eccentrically presented property and everyone who stays here loves it.

Downstairs the sitting room is the biggest place for being social. It used to be the Post Office shop and serving counter and is on the corner of the building with coastal views on it’s 2 sides. The kitchen is smaller and the view is directly toward the Needles.

Upstairs the style carries on. The bathrooms are big and sparkle. The bedrooms are all lovely. The two biggest are at the front with the views, the twin looks over the terrace garden at the back. Downstairs is the children’s bunk room.

Family

Curious families will be hard pushed to choose where to go first. Adults will love great seaside walking to good restaurants and the numerous places for quiet relaxing. Families with kids will love the little sandy beach nearby (walk there in a 10 minutes), wandering through the next-door boat yard, the sounds of boat masts tinkling in the wind whilst they read in the sunsets that warm the house on summer nights. Little children will love coming home to build their beach-found treasures into jewellery and pirate accessories. For those with teens, this is one of our best houses because the cycling from here is so safe to Lymington on the back tracks, and the Lymington Salt Water pools (20 mins away) with a floating 110 metre assault course is completely brilliant and mad.

A walk to Hurst Castle is blustery and has great views of The Needles and the castle takes some beating for hide and seek games. There’s a little café there too. Keyhaven is also a great area for kayaking and paddle boarding – great fun for all ages. For younger kids there is great crabbing down the lane on the Hurst Castle footbridge. In the house we provide 1 travel cot and 1 high chair. All bedrooms are suitable for  travel cots.

Keyhaven and it’s marshes are named ‘cû hæfen’ in Old English and is a harbour where cows and sheep were shipped to and from the Isle of Wight. Now this pretty hamlet is still a time-zone behind the rest of the world. Not much moves quickly here, except passing flights of birds settling for the evening on the tidal marshes.

Best for…

Anyone wanting to escape but still be part of village action. Great people watching here in summer. Families with very small, or slightly older children (who are safe enough to explore the coastal tracks, cycle on the bridle tracks and trails to Lymington).

If you need an extra 4 beds, then look at out our property just a few doors down – Coastguards Cottage which sleeps 4.

What are the quirks here? (We like to be brutally honest)…

The cottage was the Post Office and therefore is in the village centre. The little lane to the front and side is tiny, and looks bigger in the pictures. It’s not even a two-way road really and the only medium sized traffic on it are boats going to the boat yard.

When you walk to the beach, (toward Hurst Castle) there is car parking for walkers, this is flooded by the tide twice a day, you can still walk by on a raised footpath.

The cottage is family friendly but please be aware that there isn’t a play room and if it’s rainy, the downstairs areas of the house will feel small if you have 8 people there.  This house is for outdoor loving people who want to get out come rain or shine. The front garden is very small, big enough  and enclosed, so small children can wander about freely, but definitely not big enough for riding bikes, or ball games. The terrace at the back is bigger but it’s still a terrace. Anyone with kids who are wanting freedom is best to walk to Hurst Castle beach where you can go as wild as you like, make sandcastles and generally romp about.

Accessibility

The access to the cottage is flat and there are a few small steps in the  little courtyard garden. There is a downstairs bedroom here which has bunks in it and a shower opposite.

So if you are organising a group with less mobile people then read our ideas (and tested excursions) here in our blog ‘Holidaying with less mobile folk? Here’s where to go, what to do!’

And if you are organising a celebration for those in their 60’s + please visit our blog post ‘Four easy ideas for memorable 60th, 70th & 80th birthdays’