new forest, southern england, wildlife

 

 City & Country Guides > Europe > UK > New Forest


The beautiful and unique area of countryside known as the New Forest is a must to visit. It is was originally part of a Primeval forest that once covered all of Southern England, today it comprises of 93,000 acres of mixed woodland, open heaths and grass lawns which you can enjoy for free at your leisure, and there is still much more to enjoy.

The New Forest is close to the coast, particularly the clubbers favourite nightspot of Bournemouth on the South coast. So whatever you are looking for the forest has it all, and is easily accessible from London.

As well as visiting the New Forest itself there are heaps of attractions on offer, there are the delights of the World Renown National Motor Museum at Beaulieu and the opportunity to discover more about the unique wildlife at the New Forest Owl Centre, the owls will even land on your arm, and so much more.

Travel

The New Forest is incredibly easy to find, from London just head down from London to the sea and if you look on the map, we are directly opposite the Isle of Wight - a lovely Island for a day trip!

London is only about 2.5 hours away, so it is easy to escape the bustle of the capital for a relaxing weekend in the country.

To really discover the forest you really do need to have access to your own transport, as the buses are often infrequent and rarely take you to the destination of your choice, but saying that if you arrive by train to Brockenhurst in the centre of the forest, you can hire a bike and discover the delights by pedal power - there is some great off road cycling and travel paths to enjoy.

If you chose to use your own car, then please by aware that the majority of car parks within the forest are free - some may have a meter - but if you read the small print you on some occasions will notice the payment is voluntary!

 

Accomodation

Within the New Forest there is accommodation for everybody - you can discover the forest in its Natural State by camping at one of the mainly forestry commission campsites, live in up in a five star hotel, or stay in a family hotel or a guest house or even the local pub.

There are also some great places to eat within the forest's unique villages from traditional country restaurants, to delightful fresh fish restaurants on the cliff tops, as well as huge variety of Italian, Indian, Thai, Chinese cuisine, in addition to the numerous Public houses offering unique and unusual dished from Venison to Kangaroo.

 

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Things to do

For full details of places to visit in and around the New Forest - then visit http://www.newforest.tv/attractions/

For more information on the area: http://www.newforest.demon.co.uk - this site has a great accommodation page.

For travelling further along the south coast - http://southcoast.edreams.com

To see images of the New Forest on this site visit the gallery

Images and text kindly supplied by Helen of New Forest.tv

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