Bucklers Hard lies on the western bank of Beaulieu River, three miles from the Solent. The deep water there - and the hard gravel, which is the reason for the name - made this a suitable place for launching ships two hundred years ago. Add to that the proximity of abundant natural oak from the forest and iron that could be smelted for nails and fastenings, and you have the reason for a thriving ship-building industry. So it came about that many of Nelson's ships, like the famous Agamemnon, were built here.

Today ships are larger and no longer made of oak, so the old launching slip you can almost see in the picture is no longer used for its original purpose. However, there is lots to see here, including the Maritime Museum. Start by looking at models of ships and see how they were constructed; then wander through some of these cottages and listen to simulated voices of shipwrights and carpenters whose lifesize models inhabit the rooms.

Then halfway down the hill on the left one of the cottages has been made into a tiny chapel, used every Sunday and sometimes for weddings. There you can see a memorial to Sir Francis Chichester, whose circumnavigation in Gypsy Moth IV started from here. At the bottom of the hill is the Master Builder's House Hotel, restaurant and pub.

Bucklers Hard is about seven miles from Arden House, across delightful countryside. Go through Beaulieu Village, up the High Street, and fork left off the Lymington Road at the edge of the village.