Dreams of escaping the city into the English countryside often feature logs crackling in the fireplaces of thatched pubs and ponies roaming freely for some reason through ancient woods and villages. However, that isn’t just the imagined England of Hardy, Hobbiton or In the Night Garden — it’s a real place, and it’s just a two-hour drive from London, so ideal for a weekend break.
The New Forest is neither ‘new’, having been designated a royal forest by William the Conquerer nearly a thousand years ago, nor is it strictly a forest, two-thirds of it being open heath or moorland after much of it was felled to assemble Nelson’s fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar.
What it is is a green space ripe with folklore, criss-crossed by hundreds of flat country walks and cycle paths (the New Forest was recently voted Europe’s top national park for hiking), and home to not only those dreamy thatched pubs but also some of the country’s most celebrated hotels.
FRIDAY: EVENING
Lime Wood
That means you’re blessed with overnight options. The original Pig hotel just outside Brockenhurst, famous for redrawing the boutique-hotel blueprint, is the stay of choice for lovers of good food and higgledy-piggledy furniture. Stone-cold classics Lime Wood and Chewton Glen both have pioneering spas that take pampering to whole new levels. Beyond those famous three, there’s Stanwell House, a Georgian bolthole on Lymington’s high street, and the welcoming New Park Manor, whose raison d’être is family-friendly getaways.
You’ll be expertly fed and watered at all of these country piles, but if you are heading out for Friday-night feasting, then be sure to pre-book dinner (open 6pm to 9pm) at The Elderflower in Lymington, whose harbourside setting and Michelin-nodded menu promises the freshest catch of the day. Then stop in for a nightcap around the corner at The Ship Inn overlooking the yachts in the marina.
SATURDAY: MORNING
We wouldn’t advise missing breakfast at any of our New Forest hotels, but if you’re out and about early and in need of a feed, Hockey’s farm shop just outside South Gorley village serves a memorable full-English breakfast of hyper-local fare.
After, sling your walking boots in the car and head to Bolderwood, an idyllic woodland with a fine chance of seeing New Forest ponies. The reason they’re allowed to wander where they like is because their owners, known as ‘commoners’, have ancient rights to graze them anywhere. Wild deer are harder to spot, but the Bolderwood deer sanctuary has a viewing platform not far from where these timid antlered beauties hang out.
From Bolderwood, head south on Ornamental Drive to the Knightwood Oak, the largest of its kind in the New Forest and something of a celebrity among locals, thanks to its seven-metre girth. Crossing the A35, the roadway becomes the Rhinefield Ornamental Drive, which continues south through scenic forest to Whitefield Moor, an open moorland carved by streams and dotted with more animals: ponies, cattle, donkeys and pigs, the latter of which are let loose in autumn to snaffle the acorns poisonous to ponies.
SATURDAY: AFTERNOON
Samphire
This final stretch of Ornamental Drive winds its way to Brockenhurst, which, if you’re not already staying there the night, makes the conservatory restaurant at The Pig a logical choice for lunch. If it’s only caffeine you’re after, then pause for proper coffee at The Paddle in the Forest on Brookley Road.
Continue east from here to family favourite village Beaulieu, home to the National Motor Museum as well as Gothic manor Palace House, former gatehouse to Beaulieu Abbey. If it’s not cars but boats that, err, float your boat, continue on to Buckler’s Hard, a former shipbuilding village and museum where Nelson’s fleet was heroically assembled.
Further east still across the Beaulieu River is Exbury Gardens & Steam Railway (open from March to early November), whose collection of rhododendrons and azaleas dazzle visitors come spring. Or loop back round to Lymington where the Saturday street market has been a fixture since the 13th century, and puts you conveniently at the door of Stanwell House for afternoon tea or lunch at the hotel’s restaurant, Samphire.
SATURDAY: EVENING
After cavorting with trees, boats or automobiles, you’re probably eager for some human interaction, and Lyndhurst is where the action’s at on a Saturday night. Drop into Black Star record shop (from 10am to 5.30pm) on the High Street to flick through the latest vinyl, before pulling up a stool across the road at Renoufs (open noon to 11pm, Saturday). This cheese and wine bar is one of six similar outposts across Dorset and Hampshire, all of them with enthusiastic staff who’ll expertly pair meat and cheese platters with your pinot noir.
If instead you find yourself in Lymington, the High Street Kitchen (open 6pm to 9.30pm) is a real champion of seafood, with dishes such as south-coast lemon sole and crayfish beurre blanc leaping off the menu. If you still have energy, amble out to The Haven Bar & Restaurant (open 9am to 11pm, Saturday), where sunsets over the Solent and the hills of the Isle of Wight make a fitting backdrop to espresso martinis.
SUNDAY: MORNING
Keep it coastal on Sunday morning with smoked kippers or guacamole and salmon on toast for breakfast or brunch at the Beachcomber (open 9am to 8pm) in Barton-on-Sea. This family-run, clifftop café also overlooks the Solent and the Needles, a row of toothy rocks that jut out from the Isle of Wight’s western headland.
The Isle comes into clearer view as you move south-east along the New Forest’s coastline, first at Milford-on-Sea and then on the hour-or-so walk along the peninsula to Hurst Castle, a fortress built by Henry VIII. Or, at the opposite end of the Solent, start your Sunday at Lepe Country Park, where kiteflyers take advantage of its blustery cliffs, and bird- and boat-watchers congregate.
If the weather doesn’t lend itself to coastal walking, stay inland with a visit to the village of Burley where former resident Sybil Leek — renowned thanks to her pet jackdaw Hotfoot Jackson, who would travel about on her shoulder (yes, really) — publicly proclaimed herself a white witch and opened the UK’s first Wiccan store, A Coven of Witches, in 1955. It’s still going strong next door to Burley’s gift shops, tea rooms and art galleries.
SUNDAY: AFTERNOON
If you want to take an even closer look at the multi-coloured sand cliffs of the Isle of Wight’s Alum Bay or the iconic Needles lighthouse, you could charter a skippered yacht from Lymington for trips across the Solent and beyond.
Or, if Sunday is less about high-sea adventure and more about roast potatoes, then there are plenty of pubs serving generous Sunday dinners, such as the stylish, 16th-century Filly Inn near Brockenhurst, or The Trusty Servant in Minstead and its sister pub The Royal Oak in Beaulieu. The Turfcutters Arms in East Boldre is more tucked away but has a large children’s play area in the garden and serves game stew alongside its Sunday roasts.
SUNDAY: EVENING
If there’s still time left before the drive home, consider visiting the Monkey Brewhouse just outside Lymington. It has its own microbrewery for keg and cask ales, and if you’re still stuffed from lunch it serves light bites such as baked chorizo in red wine and melted camembert with warm bread and chutney. If you are hungry, however, mains here include smoked-haddock kedgeree and lamb and rosemary pie, all served to the soundtrack of live music every Sunday from 8pm.
Transport If you’re driving from London you’ll arrive via the M3 and then the M27, the latter of which pierces the north-eastern corner of the forest. From here, there’s a main artery (A337) running north to south through Lyndhurst, known informally as the capital or ‘heart’ of the forest; the village of Brockenhurst, terminus of the mainline train service from London Waterloo (which takes around 90 minutes); and finally coastal Lymington, where ferries depart for the Isle of Wight. To the east of this central spine is family-friendly Beaulieu, and to the west is the market town of Ringwood. If you’re flying in, the nearest international airports are London Heathrow, which is about an hour and a half away by car, followed by London Gatwick, which takes just under two hours.
When to go The New Forest is a year-round destination, but four-wheel fanatics might be drawn to the Beaulieu Supercar Weekend, which is usually the first Saturday and Sunday in August. Other calendar highlights include the annual Lymington Seafood Festival on the second weekend in July and the New Forest Food Festival in mid-August.
What to buy After tasting their desserts, you’ll want to purchase one of The Pig’s pots of honey, which is harvested on the estate. Talking of pigs, meat-eaters might seek out some pannage pork, which has a unique flavour thanks to the way New Forest pigs are employed to forage acorns. You’ll find it at butchers and farm shops all over this national park, including at Hockey’s. For a leafier souvenir, pick up an unusual potted plant or two from Shallowmead Nurseries just outside Lymington.
Good to know Please don’t be tempted to stroke or touch the free-roaming animals, which have been known to kick out at unsuspecting tourists. Also be careful in boggy, marshy areas — even in summer they can result in lost shoes or twisted ankles.
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