A great guide to the New Forest   New Forest Villages         New Forest Walks   New Forest Cycling          New Forest Wildlife   New Forest Pubs              New Forest Ponies   New Forest weather forecast   and much more.

The New Forest is located close to the south coast in a delightful corner of south-west Hampshire. Containing a magnificent, almost unrivalled variety of scenery, the New Forest has recently been designated the New Forest National Park.

The New Forest is unique in modern Britain. Spread over 377 square kilometres (145 square miles), it is an ancient hunting ground whose character has survived intact into the 21st century.

The New Forest is an ideal destination for day visits, weekends and longer holidays. New Forest lawns provide ample space for family relaxation, whilst many New Forest attractions cater especially for children. Historic towns and cities are also nearby – Christchurch, Salisbury and Southampton, for example; and so is the coast, including Bournemouth's sandy beaches.

New Forest fact file •   New Forest walkers can go      largely where they please. •   New Forest cycle routes      extend for over 160      kilometres. •   Horse riding is the third     most popular New Forest     activity,  after walking and     cycling. •   Over 100 pubs can be     found in and around the     New Forest. •   The New Forest was     created in 1079 by     William the Conqueror. •   The New Forest National     Park arrived 926 years     later, in 2005. •   New Forest ponies are     rounded up during     autumnal 'drifts'. •   Sea trout return each year     to spawn in New Forest     streams. •   New Forest resident, Mrs.     Alice Hargreaves, was the     inspiration for Lewis     Carroll's Alice in     Wonderland.

New Forest and other news 17/7 Gearing-up for 90th New Forest Show (Bournemoth Echo) 16/7 New Forest cruelty case couple receive animal ban(Bournemouth Echo) 13/7 Badger cull order quashed(The Independent) 2/7 Flap over New Forest nesting birds (Bournemouth Echo) 14/6 Badgers win 11th hour reprieve (Badger Trust) 9/6 Anger as jousting decision is delayed (Southern Daily Echo) 31/5 Plans for new home for New Forest NPA gather pace (Southern Daily Echo) 29/5 The Woodland Trust sees much for nature lovers in the new Coalition's plans 22/5 Report on failure to halt wildlife decline is buried (The Independent) 19/5 Chris Packham Bird Trail event a huge success More New Forest, Wildlife and Environmental News

New Forest villages
New Forest villages retain a special 'New Forest' character, and offer shops of all descriptions, ranging from those supplying the necessities of life, through to more esoteric establishments.

And in the New Forest, there is never a need to go hungry or thirsty for here will be found an unrivalled choice of pubs, restaurants and tea rooms.

New Forest accommodation is also readily available, for there are countless high quality hotels, guest houses and B&Bs from which to choose; and numerous camp sites for those who prefer to stay under canvas.

New Forest walking and cycling
The New Forest offers marvellously unrestricted access for relaxation, cycling, walking and exploration using mile upon mile of gravel tracks and a variety of little used New Forest paths.

New Forest winter walks on crisp, frosty days are a special delight; whilst spring in the New Forest sometimes comes as early as February. New Forest heaths ablaze with heather are a special feature of late-summer; whilst autumn brings spectacular New Forest woodland displays of gold, red and orange; and rutting deer that remind of the original purpose of this old place.

New Forest ponies
New Forest ponies, donkeys, cattle and autumnal pigs wander freely, continuing centuries-old New Forest commoning traditions that were once widespread over much of England, but have now largely disappeared, apart from in a small number of places such as the New Forest.

	New Forest - ponies at Mill Lawn, Burley

New Forest wildlife
New Forest wildlife is of international importance. In the New Forest, four species of deer can regularly be seen, butterflies are at times abundant, and 75% of Britain's dragonfly and damselfly species are found.

Look out also for the purple blooms of wild gladiolus that grace the New Forest heathlands, but are found nowhere else in Britain; and a range of New Forest birds such as the tiny Dartford warbler, and spring and summer visiting hobbies and nightjars.

New Forest history
Evidence of New Forest history can often be found in this ancient landscape - there is, after all, little need to look much beyond the centuries-old, lichen-clad oaks that once would have been felled and used for Navy timber.

But here in the New Forest, there are also Bronze Age barrows; Iron Age hill forts; aged, mysterious earthen banks and ditches; and much, much more.

New Forest Explorers' Guide - a treasure trove of New Forest information and images! Within the pages of the New Forest Explorers' Guide, wildlife, landscapes, commoning traditions and history are examined in detail, whilst accompanying New Forest photographs, postcards and maps help bring to life this ancient land.