The New Forest
If you want to catch a glimpse of England as it might have been thousands of years ago, before people splattered houses, roads, power stations and other paraphernalia all over the place, there aren't many options. One place you could try is the New Forest in Hampshire, a national park that offers superb woodland walks as well as cycle and pony rides. Go there in the autumn and you'll find the trees blazing with colour as the year dies down for winter.
Photo: New Forest ponies. Photo by courtesy of Jasja Dekker, published on Flickr in 2007 under a Creative Commons Licence.The location
The New Forest is just to the west of Southampton and bordering the
South Coast where the English Channel separates the mainland from the
Isle of Wight. It's a warm place and you can tell the trees love it—go
to the New Forest in May and you'll be amazed at the lush, verdant
growth that surrounds you. The New Forest is less of a place than
a "green gap", tucked in between Southampton and Bournemouth on either side,
with towns like Romsey, Fordingbridge, and Salisbury on its northern
borders. Not all the Forest is forest: much of it, especially on either
side of the main A31 road, is wild heathland. The main Forest towns are
Lyndhurst and
Brockenhurst. Lyndhurst is a bustling market town with a heavy
throughput of visitors at all times of year. Although Brockenhurst is a
little smaller, it has the advantage of a mainline railway station.
Villages like Minstead and Burley are also worth a visit. Salisbury and
Stonehenge are only a stone's throw to the north-west.
The economy
Tourism in various shapes and sizes is now the lifeblood of the New
Forest, although the people who live there might not agree. Go to some
of the wealthier villages in the Forest and you'll find homes owned by
such celebrities as Esther Rantzen and Ken Russell. Wealthy Londoners
and well-heeled professionals from nearby Southampton and Bournemouth
are all around you. There's no question that they suffer the tourists
rather than welcome them.
Things to do
Countryside
There's no shortage of amazing countryside to enjoy in the New Forest! If you're staying near here, the first thing you should do is buy yourself a copy of the Ordnance Survey Outdoor Leisure Map 22, which shows all the places you can walk and picnic. In theory, you can just walk anywhere in the forest. In practice, however, some places are far easier and more pleasant to walk through than others and its often best to follow public footpaths rather than blazing your own trail and getting lost in a thicket! There's no need to bring your own bicycle—you can hire them from Country Lanes at the railway station in Brockenhurst, at Forest Leisure Cycling in Burley, and at least half a dozen other places. If you fancy horse riding, you can book yourself a session by the hour at the stables at New Park Manor, which is also a rather nice hotel. There are some delightful riverside walks in the New Forest, especially along the River Avon near Fordingbridge and Ringwood.
Attractions
The New Forest is an attraction in its own right, of course, but it also offers plenty of things to see and do. If flowers are your thing, you're certainly want to visit the famous Exbury Gardens. If you're visiting in the spring, be sure to take a look at the small but perfectly formed Furzey Gardens in Minstead, whether the sumptuous blousy rhododendrons and wonderfully perfumed azaleas are not to be missed. If you enjoy stately homes, the glorious Breamer House near Fordingbridge is also worth a visit. Beaulieu Palace, a short drive from Brockenhurst, has a theme park, car museum, and stately home you can visit all at once. If you like animals, how about a trip to the New Forest Otter, Owl, and Wildlife Park? Marwell Zoo is about half an hour's drive away towards Winchester. Nearby Lymington offers an interesting wander through rows of small, mostly independent shops down to the quayside and the pier, with fast ferries to the Isle of Wight.
Shopping
Lyndhurst has an interesting selection of antique shops and eating places, but not a great deal more to offer the tourist. If you're interested in a major shopping expedition, you want to travel west key in Southampton or Bournemouth perhaps.
Culture
Don't expect to find an awful lot of culture in the middle of a
forest! But even in Brockenhurst, you're only 90 minutes from London,
15 minutes or so from Southampton and Bournemouth—and there's usually
something on offer in one of these places.
Sport
There's fantastic fishing on offer in such places as Fordingbridge,
Ringwood, and Christchurch.
Places to stay and eat
The New Forest has a complete range of holiday accommodation, from
the sumptuous five-star Chewton
Glen hotel at one end of the spectrum
to simple camp sites and caravan parks at the other. There are numerous
hotels dotted throughout the forest, including the New Park Manor and
the Balmer Lawn on the
main road from Brockenhurst to Lyndhurst, the
Lyndhurst Park
which, as the name suggests, is situated on the edge of
fabulous open parkland with the famous wild New Forest ponies all
around you.
There are some great eating places in the Forest, from the Chewton
Glen all the way down to the fish and chip shop on Lyndhurst High
Street. One of the best places you'll find is The Trusty Servant pub in
Minstead. Don't expect to find anonymous microwaved pub grub
here: the menu offers sensationally good local food at extremely reasonable
prices.
Getting here
Car
The M3 motorway down from London stops at Cadnam roundabout, which is the north-eastern limit of the Forest. Beyond that, the A31 dual carriageway leads you down to Bournemouth with spectacular views of the forest heathland on either side.
Train
Brockenhurst is the main point of entry by train, with fast South
West Trains to Southampton, Bournemouth, and London Waterloo and
intercity cross-country services (currently operated by Virgin Trains,
but soon switching over to Arriva) to Southampton, Winchester, Reading,
Oxford, Birmingham, Manchester, and stations to Edinburgh and Glasgow.
There are other stations in the New Forest (Ashurst, Lyndhurst Road,
and Beaulieu Road, but trains seldom stop there.) Brockenhurst train
station is served by the number 56 bus, which stops right outside the
station entrance, and will take you to Lyndhurst and Southampton
(running on way) and Lymington (running the other).
Bus
Buses in the New Forest are better than you might expect, but worse
than you might hope. It's relatively quick and easy to get between the
main towns in and around the Forest by bus (Southampton, Ringwood,
Fordingbridge, Bournemouth, Lymington, and Salisbury). Reaching smaller
villages can be tricky, but it's not impossible. Wilts & Dorset operates most of
the buses in the region and produces a timetable called "Bus Times:
Ringwood, Lymington and New Forest area" that public transport users
will find indispensable. Particularly helpful buses include the 31 and
31A (which run from Southampton to Lyndhurst via Minstead and the
X34/35, which goes from Bournemouth to Southampton via an extremely
long and scenic route taking in Burley, Holmsley, Lyndhurst, and
Ashurst.
Walking and cycling
Don't forget you can always cycle or walk! It takes about three
quarters of an hour to walk from Lyndhurst to Minstead, for example.
Map
Here's a map of the New Forest from Google Maps. You can use the "Find businesses" tab and search box to find local businesses, places to stay, and so on. Use the "Get directions" tab to get driving directions to the New Forest from wherever you are.
More information
- New Forest National Park Authority: The official guide to the National Park.
- New Forest Online: A helpful directory of local businesses, including places to stay, where to hire a bicycle, and so on.
