Our New Forest adventure

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As August turns into September and the children return to School it is time for the people with no responsibility for these children, my wife and I included, to load up the car and head off to somewhere nice for that much needed break. This year we had the added bonus that as if by magic the weeks of what seemed like endless rain were replaced by a cloudless blue sky. The New Forest and Lymington were our destination, I actually owed my wife a New Forest trip as I had rather mucked up a previous attempt by not knowing exactly where the New Forest is. If you head out of Southampton you need to head south…lesson learned!



Travelling from Bristol it is a straight forward route, take the A36 and head towards Salisbury. I must admit I am always prepared for anything that the traffic of Salisbury can throw at me but on this occasion it was kind and we were soon on the A338 and heading towards Ringwood. A short way down this road and there is an entrance to the New Forest at a village called Downton. You are soon driving over the cattle grid and into the Forest proper and in no time at all your first ponies are being sighted, and picture perfect thatched cottages line the road. We drove onto Lyndhurst, the New Forest’s main town which is situated almost exactly in the centre of the Forest. Lyndhurst has been known as the capital of the New Forest since William the Conqueror established it as a hunting ground in 1079. The only thing you need to be prepared for is that Lyndhurst has a one-way system and it can get quite busy. Lyndhurst is home to the New Forest’s Tourist Information Office which is well worth a visit, all manner of information about the Forest is available here.



We headed south from Lyndhurst towards Brockenhurst and as you pass the “Welcome to Brockenhurst” sign there is a huge hotel on your left called Balmer Lawn with Brockenhurst Cricket Club’s ground directly in front of it. It is the sort of hotel that is out of a lot of peoples pocket’s reach, ours included but it is an impressive sight and a very good base. We turned left here but instead of heading towards the hotel we parked in the car park immediately on the right. It was time for our picnic lunch stop and just about my favourite spot in the whole Forest, extremely picturesque. The Lymington river meanders through here and it is shallow enough for children to play safely. It really is a perfect place to take a break, ponies and donkeys are in close attendance too.





After a lovely Chicken Salad lunch it was time to be on our way again, still heading south through Brockenhurst and onto the lovely coastal town of Lymington where we would be staying overnight. Lymington is mostly known for its Isle of Wight Ferry and I imagine that most visitors head straight for the Ferry and see precious little of Lymington, which is a shame as it has a certain charm about it. The main street was resplendent with bunting crossing the road. I don’t think this bunting was in honour of our visit, but you never know!



It was time to move on to our hotel, the MacDonald Elmers Court Hotel which is actually situated just outside of Lymington but easy to find. You just head over the bridge, towards and past the Isle of Wight ferry terminus, take a big left hand bend and the hotel’s entrance is on your right as you start to climb the hill. Stifling a collective “wow” as we had our first sight of the hotel we kept to the left and parked up in the car park. The hotel is certainly an impressive sight and I think elegant with the look of a stately manor describes it best. The main house was built in the early 1900s but a building existed there in 1820 and got a mention in the book “Country Houses of Hampshire” in the 1800s. It was owned by the Whitaker family until the 1930s when it was taken over by Middlesex County Council for use as a school for delicate children. War came and it was taken over by the War Office and used as an Electronics and Communication Centre by the American and Canadian forces to co-ordinate the D-day landings. It was also used as a spy training school and the famous British spy Odette was trained here. After the war it returned to Middlesex County Council again until 1979 when it was sold and developed to a very high standard eventually ending up in the MacDonalds Hotels chain in 1997. The main building has been added to with apartments and blocks of rooms situated in groups of eight with four on the ground level with four above, as well as self-contained cottages and apartments. Check-in was an extremely pleasant experience as we were dealt with in an extremely courteous and friendly way.



The room itself was lovely, very clean with everything you would expect to find, even a fridge. The bed was comfy, always a bugbear of mine and the Bathroom was just what you would expect to find. There is a space outside that is yours too, not a balcony or a terrace but something in between. Now it was time to explore. There is more to this hotel than just a place to rest your head. There is an outdoor swimming pool (the only one in Lymington), a putting green, tennis courts, a fountain, a restaurant called “the Steak Club” (the luxury option is available in the main house) and a Leisure Club or gym to you and me. We walked down across a lawn hemmed in by exceptionally well manicured hedges towards a view point over the Solent. Benches have very conveniently been placed there allowing you to sit and take in the majesty of the view. The Isle of Wight is on your left and if you look ahead you can see Lymington and its Royal Yacht Club and countless masts of the many boats and yachts that reside there. You can watch The Wightlink Ferry at work and actually follow its entire progress and see it reach its journeys end at Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight. That evening we dined in Lymington and were very well looked after by Prezzos in Lymington’s Main Street.



After a good nights sleep it was time to check out and bid our farewell to the hotel. We were soon on the road again heading west and in no time were tucking into a superb breakfast in a very welcoming café in Milford-On-Sea whose name escapes me which is a shame because it is well worth a recommendation. The £11 we spent was a £20 saving on what the hotel were prepared to do it for. From there we took the short drive to Milford-On-Sea’s Beach Car Park which gives you a wonderful view of The Needles on the Isle of Wight.



From Milford-On-Sea we headed west again and in no time were in the town of Christchurch heading for the attractive coastal place of Mudeford (pronounced Muddyford) and sits at the entrance to Christchurch Harbour. We parked in the Avon Beach Car Park which literally leads on to the sandy beach. We headed right and strolled down the promenade there with Sandhills Holiday Park on our right and a very calm sea on our left. In the height of summer the place is absolutely packed with children crabbing. You eventually reach the Quay and the fish and chip shops, pub and shop all in attractive white brick and as you pass these you soon run out of land. There is a very narrow crossing here with Hengistbury Head on the other side less than the proverbial stone’s throw away and a ferry is waiting to take you the short distance across. We didn’t have time on this visit to make the crossing but it is well worth it. A long promenade of beach huts await that lead you to the gorgeous headland. It is a fascinating place not only for its wide variety of habitats including heathland, grassland, scrub, and coastland but also for its archaeology and geology. As we turned back we stopped to take in the lovely Christchurch Harbour and its varied bird-life. Heading back the same way we came we had a time for a welcome coffee on the beachside café on Avon Beach before heading on our way again.



As we travelled towards the New Forest again we reflected on how much we both liked the Dorset/ Hampshire border and if our dream of retiring to the sea ever became a reality then this was an area that would need serious consideration. Taking a route through the villages of Hordle and Sway, home of Peterson’s Folly, a 2OO foot tall concrete tower that has a grade 2 listing and we were back in the gorgeous Forest and marvelled at the countryside and how the ponies are totally at ease with life. Eventually we found ourselves at Hatchet Pond, the largest body of water in the New Forest that is managed by the Forestry Commission. An exceptionally lovely spot with a variety of wildlife but do watch the potholes on the way into the car park. From there we were soon back in Brockenhurst looking for the turning that takes you to Beaulieu the home of Lord Montagu’s famous National Motor Museum. A lovely drive made all the better by the magnificent views of the heathland and heather. Heathland is rarer than rainforest and the New Forest has the biggest area of this habitat remaining in Europe.We didn’t stop at Beaulieu as there was a major event taking place the next day and the village had been flooded with no parking cones. The road is horseshoe shaped and takes you back to Lyndhurst and the end of our tour.



Trying to do the New Forest in a couple of days is of course impossible. I have only scratched the surface here, there is so much more if you have the time: hiking, riding, water sports, villages we never found, hotels, guesthouses and camp-sites. I hope, at the very least, I have given you the inspiration to pay the New Forest a visit.



Oh, and on the way home we managed to meet rush hour traffic in both Salisbury and Bath.

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