The New Forest

Advantages: Surrounded by beauty and wildlife
Disadvantages: I haven't come across any yet

...Well I am one of the lucky ones how lives here now. I moved here only 6 months ago after being here four times on holiday - I loved it that much. It is a great place to get away from the rat race, to unwind and admire the beautiful forest. The New Forest covers about 200 square miles of south west Hampshire and it was designated a National Park in 2005. The New Forest is renowned for its large expanse of heathland, which can appear quite bleak during the Winter months, but in the Summer and Autumn can look quite beautiful due to the colours of the heather. If you are an animal lover then this is the place for you. There are horses, ponies and cows which just "roam around" the forest. So watch out when driving. When I first moved down here I was amazed to see that a herd of cows crossing the road was causing such a traffic jam...

leighh 19.08.2007 · Read review
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Review of The New Forest (England)

  The New Forest, only 900 years old.

Advantages: See wild ponies and if you are lucky some deer.
Disadvantages: Busy in the summer holidays, public transport is poor.

...~~Summary~~ The New Forest is a great area for walking, viewing flora, fauna, ponies and other animals in the wild, also there are good beaches around Bournemouth. In the New Forest there are parks and activities for visitors, along with a variety of small towns and quaint villages to visit. Also there are many little gravel car parks dotted across the forest for visitors to park the car and have a wander at their leisure. ~~Location~~ The New Forest is located on the South Coast of England, it is about 90 miles South West of London in Hampshire. The New Forest covers an area of approximately 150 square miles and is roughly bounded to the south by the sea, to the east by Southampton Water and to the West by the River Avon. The New Forest is made up of woodland, heaths, marsh and some arable land. Approximately half of the area is...

buzzard_cad 27.04.2005 · Read review
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Review of The New Forest (England)

The New Forest is Great

Advantages: Nice Forest. Attractive Heathland. Deer. Ponies
Disadvantages: Gets Busy

...The New Forest in Southern England is one of the last remaining woodlands of its type in England's green and pleasant land. In typical English fashion,it is not new at all. Once a designated royal hunting ground it is an area of forest situated in Southern Hampshire and bordering Dorset, which has been wonderfully conserved, and there is a unique quality about it. A great place for camping,hiking,viewing wildlife and enjoying flauna and fauna. Coupled with that are some attractive small towns,villages and hamlets. Basically apart from acres and acres of forest,there is a good deal of interesting heathland,coupled with the lovely little New Forest ponies, red deer and other interesting fauna and flora. There are several very attractive little villages and towns in and around the New Forest including Lyndhurst, Brockenhurst and to...

ashford 21.08.2001 · Read review
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Review of The New Forest (England)

Touring the New Forest Dorset/Hampshire

Advantages: Brtish at its best
Disadvantages: Let Me Think!

...Touring the south coast. Dorset/Hampshire Southampton is a favourite base for the new forest and the south coast; hotels can be much more affordable in Southampton, more so than the new forest and Dorset. The new forest hotels and accommodation are very expensive, there?s no better base than Southampton for touring the new forest. Those who have never visited the new forest and the south coast of Hampshire and Dorset then I recommend it. Staying in Southampton is for the cruise liner buffs, but it is a fantastic site especially if you are lucky enough to take site of the QM2, it?s a must for everyone. You can visit the Isle of white from here on the red funnel ferries for in the region of £36 for the day and if you go for a week then just pay the one way ticket. The holiday inn is a good base, which is situated right next to...

halk 19.08.2007 · Read review
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Review of The New Forest (England)

Low Down on Longdown Activity Farm - New Forest

Advantages: A terrific family day out
Disadvantages: A bit of sun makes it much more fun

...On Sunday I was at a loose end with what to do with my children, girls aged 6 and 2. All weekend they had been getting on each other's nerves and my wife was at breaking point. As the weather was reasonably bright we decided to get out of the house. After a quick search on the Internet for somewhere nearby, we packed a picnic and headed off to the New Forest. The place we had chosen to visit was Longdown Activity Farm. The farm is open daily between 10am to 5pm from 12 Feb - 30 Oct and weekends only in November and December. Last admission is at 4pm. Getting there was really easy; we followed the M27 to Southampton, picked up the M271 and then followed the signposts from there. If you know the New Forest, it is between Totten and Ashurst off the A35. The car park is a large gritted area, which at a guess could hold over 100...

SJW33 18.04.2005 · Read review
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Review of The New Forest (England)

The Naked Man I found in the Forest

Advantages: Breathtaking scenery, lots of history, many country pubs, close to major towns - Southampton and Bournemouth
Disadvantages: Need a car or cycle to experience all of the beauty, can get very boggy in winter

...Whilst I am a true lover of the city, I need to have a bit of peace and tranquillity to balance out the hustle and bustle in my life. Ever since I was young my family have retreated to Hampshire and Dorset ? in particular Bournemouth, Poole and the New Forest. LOCATION Roughly situated between Southampton, Bournemouth and Salisbury, the New Forest covers over 93000 acres. It is mostly owned by the Crown and is looked after and protected by the Forestry Commission, as evidenced by their familiar brown signs around the area. it appeals so much to me as a regular haven, as I can be in the forest in little more than an hour by travelling along the M25, M3, and M27. The M27 leads onto the A31 which together with the A35 is probably the largest road running through the forest. Even after visiting the forest on more occasions than I...

whitbybunny 04.01.2003 · Read review
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Review of The New Forest (England)

Queen of the Forests

Advantages: Gorgeous location, so much to see and do
Disadvantages: None!

.... This ancient law also allows pigs to graze in the woods at autumntime when the acorns are about, but I've never witnessed this. Unfortunately, most children are now born outside the district, in Gloucester hospital, so the Freeminers numbers are dwindling. In the 17th century, the Forest became famous for it's 'finest timber' - (Lord Nelson) and the oak and iron was used for Britains expanding ship building industry. Thankfully, the depletion of the mighty oak was recognised and in 1668 the re-forrestation act was introduced, allowing the Forest to flourish. The Forest today The Forest of Dean lies between the rivers Wye and Severn, in the western part of Gloucestershire, and on the borders of Wales and Herefordshire. Embarassingly, here is where I learnt something new: the Forest isdivided into four main areas (my hubby...

watkins11 29.04.2008 (30.04.2008) · Read review
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Review of The Forest of Dean

The New Forest explained

Advantages: What a story ! Compulsive reading
Disadvantages: Well, it is a big book !

...The New Forest is a vast expanse of land covered by trees in parts - mainly pines and oaks - and moors vegetation for the main part. It houses the famous New Forest ponies, sturdy little horses, and has a plentiful of deers. However, it has something far more fetching than anything above, History. The New Forest has been Royal domain for hundreds of years. A place where the kings of England used to come for hunting, however they used to 'share' the land with small communities of dwellers who made a living out of the forest. Edward Rutherfurd, following his earlier books, tells us the story of the New Forest through the years. As usual, he grafts fictionous people into the real history and makes us follow the Lives of several families living in the area. The book starts with the most famous event which happened in the New...

FrenchCancan 29.12.2003 · Read review
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Review of The Forest - Edward Rutherford

New Forest?...Certainly not its been here ages!

Advantages: Beautiful, inexpensive, peaceful
Disadvantages: Not for teens, Ponies that will not move!

...To say our trip started with a frosty welcome would be an understatement; think glacial. The New Forest is one of England's few expanses of natural beauty; you can drive among wild ponies and cattle for what seems like hours (or literally is, if they don?t move!) For this reason myself a mixed group of A-level students thought we would like to relax and get over the exam stresses and set off expectantly on our trip... Having phoned ahead that morning to the check space 'Hollands Wood' assured us there was plenty of room, so we were somewhat dismayed upon arrival to find they had become 'full' in a matter of hours. Unperturbed we used the handy map to navigate to Rounhill campsite, here we were met by a ranger who told us that they 'didn't accept youngsters as some are trouble.' At this remark I began inwardly seething, if they...

Xuberant 28.07.2004 · Read review
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Review of The New Forest (England)

I saw some Monkey Business in the Forest!

Advantages: Fascinating to watch monkeys at close quarters
Disadvantages: Poorly designed facilities, cafe expensive, not a whole day's experience

...With two kids and a mother in law to entertain during the Summer holidays we decided to take our little monkeys out for a trip in the forest. Trentham Monkey Forest in Staffordshire is within half an hour's drive of my home town, so it's a place that we've visited on several occasions now. The concept is apparantly unique within the UK as the forest is home to over 140 Barbary Macaque monkeys who are free to roam as they please, within the grounds of a 60 acre enclosure. On arrival On previous visits, we've just walked straight through to the kiosk and purchased our tickets but on our last visit (mid-August, so at the peak of children's summer holidays) we found two lengthy queues at the entrance. Even more annoying was the discovery that we'd joined the 'cash only' queue which was indicated by a sign that was only visible...

jo-1976 28.11.2009 · Read review
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Review of Trentham Monkey Forest