A Day Exploring the Villages of the New Forest

One of the great things about staying in Barton-on-Sea is that a completely different landscape begins just a short distance inland. Leave the coast behind for the day and you can spend your time driving between New Forest villages, open heathland, ancient woodland, country pubs and independent cafés, with New Forest ponies, cattle and donkeys often appearing along the way.

Brockenhurst is a natural place to begin. Surrounded by open forest, it has everything you would hope to find in a New Forest village: independent shops, cafés, pubs and animals wandering surprisingly close to the village centre. The roads leading towards Brockenhurst are part of the experience too, particularly as the houses begin to disappear and the landscape opens into heath and woodland.

If breakfast or coffee is required, The Absent Pony is one option in the village before continuing deeper into the Forest.

From Brockenhurst, head towards Burley, one of the New Forest’s most distinctive villages. Burley has become famous for its association with witchcraft and folklore, largely thanks to Sybil Leek, a self-described white witch who lived in the village during the 1950s. The theme remains visible today in some of Burley’s shops, alongside tales of smugglers and even the local legend of the Burley dragon.

It is worth allowing time simply to wander here. Browse the independent shops, stop for a traditional cream tea or visit one of the village pubs. Queen’s Head has its own connection with Burley’s smuggling history: renovation work uncovered a hidden cellar containing pistols, coins and contraband.

Continue towards Lyndhurst, often described as the capital of the New Forest. It has a busier high street, plenty of places to eat and drink, and an interesting literary connection: Alice Liddell, the inspiration behind Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, is buried in the churchyard of St Michael and All Angels.

For somewhere quieter, take the lanes out towards Minstead. The village centres on a traditional green and has another famous literary connection: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes, is buried at All Saints’ Church. The New Forest Nearby, The Trusty Servant Inn provides exactly the sort of country-pub stop that suits a day exploring the Forest.

You could also loop south through Sway, best known for the extraordinary Sway Tower, a 19th-century concrete landmark standing around 218 feet high.

The point isn’t to race through every village in a single day. Pick two or three, follow the quieter roads, stop when something catches your eye and enjoy the fact that every corner of the New Forest feels slightly different.

Stay at 3 The Dome in Barton-on-Sea and you can spend the day exploring villages, pubs and open countryside before returning to the coast for an evening beside the sea.