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. The 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.

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.

A handy tip

If you're looking for accommodation, it really helps to spell it correctly. Lots of people come to this page looking for things like acomodation and accomodation. At least no-one searches for accomadashun!