Exploring Beautiful Hampshire

In many parts of the world, October is a great month to travel.  The weather is still mild in the UK and as the seasons change, the colours in our countrysides are stunning.  During the autumn half term break last year, I spent 3 days exploring beautiful Hampshire and in particular exploring the glorious New Forest National Park. 

Getting To Hampshire and the New Forest

Hampshire is in the South of England and from Suffolk only 3 hours away.  Our main destination area was the town of Lyndhurst but during our three days away we also explored Lymington and the Isle of Wight.  Airport wise, the closest one  is Southampton. 

Heathrow Airport is  70 miles away and by train it’s a 90 minute journey from central London.  Check out The Official Guide to the New Forest. This great site has excellent maps, lots of information about different types of accommodation, activities and events going on throughout the year. 

The Village of Minsted

We chose to stay in the heart of the New Forest in a village called Minsted.  This is a small village and although you can stroll around it in a few minutes, it’s a good base to explore from.

Incredibly it is also the burial place of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes!

There are lots of walks from here and it is only 2 miles from Lyndhurst.  Our accommodation was in a traditional, country pub called The Trusty Servant which was a great find. Making a reservation  directly is cheaper but you can also book it through the usual booking sites.

The Trusty Servant Pub

Try staying just a few miles out of the centre of a town – it is often cheaper and widens your choice.   Looking out our window in Minsted were ponies happily wandering around the green; donkeys too, just getting on with their daily routine of doing very little. 

The pub had several rooms attached to it and a village shop selling homemade produce.   The owners were most hospitable and certainly keen to set you up for the day with an extremely hearty breakfast. We also ate evening meals here as it was popular with the locals and the food was excellent and incredibly good value. 

The open fires certainly made this place feel so homely after a day out walking.

Things To Do in Lyndhurst

This is a pretty market town with attractive  independent shops, coffee shops and a very interesting Heritage Centre.  This centre is definitely worth a visit. Not only does it have lots of useful maps of the forest area but it also houses a museum, library, exhibition, gift shop, and tea room. 

The exhibition gallery boards I found both helpful and interesting just to give you a bit of background about the area.  

If you want to eat in Lyndhurst, there are several pubs and restaurants to choose from.   There’s quite a bit of history here.

William the Conqueror’s hunting grounds were here and the grave of the original Alice in Wonderland (Alice Liddell, later Hargreaves) can be found in the churchyard too.  We spent a morning here pottering around, and a couple of hours another afternoon just enjoying a slower pace of life with a coffee!

Things To Do in Lymington

Lymington is much larger than Lyndhurst.  There are a lot more shops including unique  boutiques as well as well-known British chains.  On a Saturday, there is a busy market on the High Street with many stalls selling antiques, local food produce and various craft work. 

Half a day is fine here to potter around and get a feel for the place.  But  do check out this events page What’s On in Lymington – Visit The New Forest as there are festivals and yacht races  throughout the year and you may want to stay longer.

Country Lanes and New Forest Walks

Driving around these country lanes is quite an experience.   Do not be surprised to find pigs snuffling in the leaves foraging for their food; donkeys and ponies roaming by the road or even on the roads.  Instead of the usual traffic signs, there are signs to warn of animals!

Drive carefully.  If you stop to get out and see them closer, they’re totally disinterested in you.    We spent a full day out in the forest walking through an area called Acres Down. Check out the walk on All Trails Acres Down.

This was a wonderful walk and the colours are fabulous.  It can be easy to lose your bearings although again with a phone, you can easily get back on track. It’s amazing how many of these tiny tracks actually show up on google maps!  

Having said all that, it is extremely wonderful to be out there with nature, taking in the countryside and at times in this great forest, we seemed to be the only people around.

Visit Furzey Gardens

Furzey Gardens, only a mile from Minsted, is definitely worth a visit. These gardens have been developed as a social enterprise providing training and work experience for people with learning disabilities  The grounds were simply beautiful when we visited.

Entrance costs are based on suggested donations – £8 for an adult.  As we wandered around, the rich colours of autumn were everywhere like a carpet of red, orange and golden yellows. Simply stunning – my photos don’t do it justice.  

And who doesn’t like a tea-shop?  There is a pretty one here with a good choice of homemade cakes and scones. 

What is also lovely about this place, is meeting the people growing and selling the plants. They are delighted to talk about their garden patches. 

How to Visit The Isle of Wight

Although we hadn’t planned to visit the Isle of Wight, we realised when visiting Lymington that it was very easy to get a ferry from the terminal there and upon checking the timetable how quickly the crossing was.  The evening before, we booked tickets online to do just that. 

As we were only going for the day, we bought ‘foot passenger’ tickets only (£18.60 return per person) with the Wightlink Ferries. ‘ We  left the car parked in their large carpark at the terminal (£9 for up to 16 hours).  

The 40 minute crossing to the town of Yarmouth was fun albeit windy!  Knowing we only had a short time on the island,  we had been recommended to go and see ’The Needles’.

To get there we caught a bus (Number 7) from outside the ferry terminal which would take us on a 30 minute journey’.  

The Needles

The Needles are in fact a row of three stacks of chalk that rise about 30m out of the sea. To view them, you can either walk down the steep pathway to the beach or take a cable car. The latter sounded fun so with little queue for this, that’s what we did. 

The 5 minute ride is quite a thrill especially when the land below you disappears and you find yourself suspended over the edge of the cliff. The views of the Needles however are great and we were lucky to have such a sunny day to enjoy  them.

You can make further trips closer to these points and visit the lighthouse there. With people getting on and off at the bottom, your chair stops frequently and starts swaying in the breeze!  

On dry land, we took time for a little walk along the beach before getting back on the chair lift – yes we had bought a return ticket!  You can buy single tickets so that is an option if you are happy to walk, of course.

By the cable car boarding point, there is also an amusement park.  If you have children with you, they would probably like this but for me this seemed unfitting to be next to the natural beauty of the cliff and the sea.  We took the bus back to Yarmouth instead.  

Yarmouth

Yarmouth  itself is pretty – fairly small but with a delightful pier which I would recommend for views across the river Solent. It is also known locally for being a great spot for fishing.  There is a castle to wander around and for food, several pubs, cafes and coffee spots.

Wrap Up – New Forest and Hampshire

All in all, Hampshire is a great area to visit.  With forests, beaches, towns and villages to explore, there really is something for everyone.

If you are spending time in London, consider combining the English capital and time in Hampshire to get a deeper appreciation for rural England.