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    Home › Travel Guides›Hampshire

    The New Forest

    Enjoy caravan holidays in the New Forest and you'll see wild ponies during your walks and cycle rides and find the best country pubs for local produce

    By Practical Caravan
    Published: September 22, 2014

    Seeing New Forest Ponies grazing freely will make your caravan holidays in Hampshire extra special
    Seeing New Forest Ponies grazing freely will make your caravan holidays in Hampshire extra special
    Caravan holidays in the New Forest offer a quiet wilderness to explore, with mighty trees, forest tracks and wide open spaces full of wild ponies and deer
    Caravan holidays in the New Forest offer a quiet wilderness to explore, with mighty trees, forest tracks and wide open spaces full of wild ponies and deer
    Make sure you visit Exbury Gardens, with its famous rhododendron flowers and take steam train rides during your caravan holidays in the New Forest
    Make sure you visit Exbury Gardens, with its famous rhododendron flowers and take steam train rides during your caravan holidays in the New Forest
    Visit Beaulieu during your New Forest break and see Buckler's Hard, Nelson's shipyard on the Beaulieu River
    Visit Beaulieu during your New Forest break and see Buckler’s Hard, Nelson’s shipyard on the Beaulieu River
    Beaulieu Village, the Motor Museum and Buckler's Hard make an ideal day out during your caravan holidays in Hampshire
    Beaulieu Village, the Motor Museum and Buckler’s Hard make an ideal day out during your caravan holidays in Hampshire
    The New Forest is full of curious wild ponies, but avoid approaching, touching or feeding them
    The New Forest is full of curious wild ponies, but avoid approaching, touching or feeding them
    The wide grassy landscape near Bolton's Bench is ideal for flying kites in the New Forest
    The wide grassy landscape near Bolton’s Bench is ideal for flying kites in the New Forest
    You can often see fallow deer in the sanctuary at Bolderwood in the New Forest, where there's a viewing platform
    You can often see fallow deer in the sanctuary at Bolderwood in the New Forest, where there’s a viewing platform
    Seeing New Forest Ponies grazing freely will make your caravan holidays in Hampshire extra special
    Caravan holidays in the New Forest offer a quiet wilderness to explore, with mighty trees, forest tracks and wide open spaces full of wild ponies and deer
    Make sure you visit Exbury Gardens, with its famous rhododendron flowers and take steam train rides during your caravan holidays in the New Forest
    Visit Beaulieu during your New Forest break and see Buckler's Hard, Nelson's shipyard on the Beaulieu River
    Beaulieu Village, the Motor Museum and Buckler's Hard make an ideal day out during your caravan holidays in Hampshire
    The New Forest is full of curious wild ponies, but avoid approaching, touching or feeding them
    The wide grassy landscape near Bolton's Bench is ideal for flying kites in the New Forest
    You can often see fallow deer in the sanctuary at Bolderwood in the New Forest, where there's a viewing platform
    You might peel back the curtains in the morning and find a New Forest pony grazing by your van!

    Things To Do

    Visit Exbury Gardens and Steam Railway, on the banks of the Beaulieu River. With more than 200 acres of gardens to discover, including the Rothschild’s Collection of rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias and specimen trees, you’ll find spectacular swathes of colour to assault the senses throughout the spring, summer and autumn. For a lazy – but enjoyable – way to see the gardens, hop on the steam train for a 20-minute journey among the plants.

    Families might want to hit Paulton’s Family Theme Park on the northeastern edge of the national park. There are family rides such as log flumes, pirate ships and rollercoasters to churn the stomach. For younger family members, this is home to Peppa Pig World, with seven rides just for little ones.

    ‘Hunt’ for deer at the Bolderwood Deer Sanctuary, three miles northwest of Lyndhurst. With a purpose-built viewing platform, it’s one of the best places in the New Forest to see the wild deer, particularly between April and September when forest rangers feed them (from 12.30pm to 2.30pm).

    A must-do attraction of the New Forest is the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu. In addition to major showcases such as the Top Gear Collection of battered and modified ‘vehicles’ (including the show’s homemade motorhomes and ‘Caravan Airship’) and famous cars, there’s the Caravan Club Collection, where you can view a wealth of exhibits and see how caravan holidays have changed since 1885 to the present day.

    Visit the New Forest Pony Sale yard to witness the Beaulieu Road Pony Sale. This is where commoners sell their New Forest ponies by auction each year. Sales take place every May, September, October and November. The sale yard is three miles south of Lyndhurst on the B3056, adjacent to Beaulieu Road Station.

    Getting There

    The M27, adjoining the A31 dual-carriageway, cuts east to west right through the New Forest National Park making access relatively simple from the remainder of the UK. Junction One of the M27 is the quickest exit to get to both the south of the Park – for Lyndhurst, Brockenhurst and Beaulieu, or to the lesser-known northern areas via the B3078.

    Driving in the New Forest is a joy, whether or not you’re towing a caravan. There are wide, open roads and a maximum speed limit of 40mph for all drivers on unfenced forest roads. Remember that animals have right of way over motorists in the New Forest.

     

    Location

    Locations in this Region

    Somerset, Avon & Wiltshire

    Green Hill Farm Holiday Village

    North East England

    Cote Ghyll Caravan & Camping Park

    Shays Farm
    Heart of England

    Shays Farm Caravan and Camping

    Glenpark Estate
    Ireland (North & South)

    Glenpark Estate

    South East England

    Horam Manor Country Park

    Ribble Valley Holiday Park
    North West England

    Ribble Valley Holiday Park

    Bargoed Farm
    South Wales

    Bargoed Farm

    Melin Wern Mill
    Wales

    Melin Wern Mill Caravan Park

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