Sonning - the Bear on a Boat.: A Holiday in Hampshire

Towards the end of August, Polar and Grizzly took us on holiday to Hampshire, so Polar could see her Dad on his 92nd birthday, and Grizzly could see his grandcubs.

We were also going to visit Nearly-doctor Rachael at her mum and dad's house, as Polar had some plants for them to plant around a holiday home they let out.

Nearly-doctor Rachael's mum and dad have a field where some sheep and horses live. Last year, when they couldn't go to work, they built a shepherd's hut in the field for people to stay in. It is called "Tinky Winky's Hut" after one of the sheep who live in the field!

Polar and Grizzly were going to be the first visitors to try it out. The plants Polar brought were for landscaping around it, so they had to be things that - hopefully - the animals wouldn't eat, because they were smelly or prickly.

While the humans planted the shrubs and herbs, we bears decided we should test the bed and settee to see if they were bouncy enough for bears - and they were!

The view across the field is lovely and there is a little terrace outside the door, with more lovely views over the Hampshire Downs. Watership Down, famous for its adventurous rabbits, is very close and the nearby pub is named after it.

We checked that the kitchen sink and the wash-basin were properly fitted too, and decided that this was a very, very smart hut indeed. "Polar and Grizzly should be very comfortable here tonight," I said to the other bears.

Before then, we were going to have lunch, cooked by nearly-doctor Rachael, and some of the birthday cake she made for her brother. If she wasn't going to do the very, very import job of being a doctor, we would encourage her to be a chef!

Nearly-doctor Rachael was going back to medical school after that, but we saw our friend Horsey for a few moments before they left. He is still very busy giving Nearly-doctor Rachael hugs when she has a very busy or upsetting day, but looks very well.

That night, Polar and Grizzly and all of us had a very comfortable sleep in the hut, then helped Mr Mo (Rachael's dad) to get it ready for the first paying guests - coming that night!

Soon after Polar and Grizzly woke up, a nice RAC man came to repair "PAM" the Micra, who had been making a funny noise because a heat shield had come loose. PAM was soon well again, thanks to Mr Alan, and ready for the rest of our adventures.

We were going on to stay at the shepherd's huts in West Meon again but, on the way, we stopped at the Watercress Line for lunch and to watch the trains.

It was very exciting, as there were two steam engines running, which Grandad Polar sometimes used to drive. We had a really good view from near the station in Alresford, and we had tea and cake on the station platform too.

Here are some pictures of Polar and Grizzly with an engine that Polar's dad sometimes drove, but which was usually driven by his friend, Mr Ralph Dibden.

We were at our shepherd's hut a little while later. It was such a nice evening that Polar and Grizzly went out for a walk along the South Downs Way towards Old Winchester Hill.

You can see the farm where the huts are down in the valley. We bears love visiting them, because it is very quiet in the valley and there are lots of wild animals and birds to see, though no wild bears.

We did some bouncing on the bed again - which was not as bouncy as the bed at Nearly-doctor Rachael's mum's hut - and then looked out for Polar and Grizzly coming home.

We were in the hut furthest from the lane and closest to the fields, so we could watch the pheasants and partridges running about on the edges of the sweetcorn field. Huddlesford hadn't been here before and he thought it was lovely.

We were just starting to get worried that our human guardians had got lost when Polar and Grizzly got back and made us our tea. After that, we watched the field creatures for a little longer, then it was time for bed.