A ten minute walk around the foreshore, through the Grove Gardens, along by St John's church and through the village will get me to the pier train that gets me to the ferry that takes me across the water to Southampton; a journey of some twenty minutes; a journey of sheer delight.
Hythe pier is one of the ten longest piers in Britain and the pier train is the longest running pier train in the world. In fair weather, it's a joy to walk the length of the pier to the ferry, but it's always a thrill to ride the little train.
The ferry across the water is always exciting; it's a short trip and there's so much to see, from the smallest yacht to the biggest ocean liner and everything in between. I've been delighted by the whistles of cruise ships, amazed by the size of roll-on-roll-off cargo ships, alarmed by the wake of the Isle of Wight Fastcat, charmed by the brute force of the tugboats, enchanted by the long view down the water to the Solent, and waved myself silly at a departing RMS Queen Elizabeth.
The picture shows the end of a deserted Hythe Pier, looking towards the village. Click on the picture, click again, and you should have a bigger photo to get a sense of the distance from one end to the other.
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