Buckler's Hard Buckler's Hard
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Bucklers Hard is a picturesque hamlet situated on the banks of the Beaulieu river in the English county of Hampshire. With its Georgian cottages running down to the river, Bucklers Hard is part of the 9000 acre (36 km²) Beaulieu Estate. The hamlet is located some 2½ miles (4 km) south of the village of Beaulieu.
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The hamlet was built by the second Duke of Montagu, originally called Montagu Town, intended to be a free port for trade with the West Indies[1]. Bucklers Hard was the birthplace of many British naval vessels, including many of Admiral Nelson's fleet, using the timber of the New Forest. The industry declined in the nineteenth-century and today the hamlet is given over to tourism, with a small maritime museum, and a modern yachting marina. During World War II the village was used to build motor torpedo boats and the river was a base for hundreds of landing craft for the Normandy invasion, Operation Overlord. Bucklers Hard was where Sir Francis Chichester began and finished his single-handed voyage around the world in Gipsy Moth IV.
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