New Forest attractions

- the main things to see and do within the National Park

Apart from the natural New Forest attractions, there is also a good variety of places such as museums and historical buildings to see, spread throughout the National Park area.

This page lists the main attractions found in and around the New Forest (both natural and otherwise) along with the relevant opening times, admission prices (where appropriate) and brief summary of the attraction.

For further information on any of the New Forest attractions listed below, use the links provided to either learn more about that particular attraction through this website or to visit the official site.

The attractions are listed in alphabetical order, not importance or size!

Beaulieu

Opening times:

10.00am - 5.00 pm - 1st October to 1st June
10.00am - 6.00 pm - 2nd June to 23rd September
Closed Christmas Day

Admission prices:

Adult £19.00
Child 5 - 12 yrs £9.50
Youth 13 - 17 yrs £11.25
Family £49.75
Senior Citizens £17.50

Location: Towards the south-eastern corner of The New Forest, around 15 minutes drive from Lyndhurst centre.
Telephone: 01590 612345
Remarks: The area's premier attraction. Admission tickets include access to 3 places - the world famous Beaulieu Motor Museum, the Palace House and the Abbey. A full day out and shouldn't be missed.

Go straight to the official Beaulieu web site.

Bucklers Hard

Opening times:

10.00am - 5.00pm March to June
10.00am - 5.30pm July to August
10.00am - 5.00pm September to October
10.00am - 4.30pm November to February

Admission prices:

Adult £6.20
Child / youth £4.40 (ages 5-17 inc.)
Family £18.00
Senior Citizens £5.80

Location: 2 miles south of Beaulieu on the edge of the Beaulieu River.
Telephone: 01590 612624
Remarks: Historic 18th century village and shipbuilding yard on the edge of Beaulieu River. Cruises and guided walks available. A nice place to spend half a day.

Go straight to the official Bucklers Hard web site.

Calshot Activity Centre

Opening times:

All day every day, times vary depending on the activity

Admission prices:

No admission fee into the centre, but each activity has its own cost

Location: Calshot Spit, Fawley, in the eastern most point of the New Forest National Park.
Telephone: 02380 892077
Remarks: Worth looking at if you're in the area for a while and are interested in activity courses, particularly watersport based ones. Centre also features an indoor cycle track, artificial (Snowflex) ski slope and rock-climbing wall.

Go straight to the official Calshot Activities Centre web site.

Exbury Gardens

Opening times:

Saturday 10th March to Sunday 4th Nov, daily 10am - 5.00pm (last admission).

Admission prices:

Adults £10.50
Children under 3 yrs free
Children 3-15 yrs free
Family £21.00 (2 adults + 3 children)
Senior Citizens £10.00
Groups £9.50 (15+ people)
Exbury Railway fare £3.50/£13.50 family
Combination tickets (gardens + buggy or rail) available.

Location: Exbury ,south-eastern corner of the National Park, 3 miles south-east of Beaulieu towards Lepe Country Park.
Telephone: 02380 891203
Remarks: Excellent public gardens on the edge of the Beaulieu River. Miniature railway within the grounds. Allow a good half day for a relaxing visit.

Go straight to the official Exbury Gardens web site.

Furzey Gardens

Opening times:

Daily all year, 10am - dusk. Gallery & tea rooms daily March - October, 10am-5pm.

Admission prices:

Adults £7.00
Children (4-16yrs) £4.00
Family (2+3) £19.50
Groups of 10-20 people less 10%
Disabled visitor and helper free

Location: Minstead, best found from the westbound A31 (turn at Malwood Hill) or from the A337 Cadnam-Lyndhurst road.
Telephone: 02380 812464
Remarks: Small but very worthwhile public gardens set in the heart of the rural New Forest. Allow a good half day for a relaxed visit.

Go straight to the official Furzey Gardens web site.

Hurst Castle (museum) and Spit

Opening times:

10.30am - 5.30pm daily April to September
10.30am - 4.00pm daily October
10.30am - 4.00pm weekends only November to March

Admission prices:

Adults £4.00
Children £2.50
Concession £3.50
Free to English Heritage members

Location: Hurst Castle Spit, the southernmost point of the New Forest National Park.
Telephone: 01590 642344
Remarks: A great place for a walk and to take in some Solent air. Spectacular views of The Solent and Isle Of Wight, particularly The Needles. A relaxing walk around Hurst Castle Museum will take around an hour. If you don't fancy the long walk along the spit, there is a short ferry crossing to the museum from Keyhaven.

Go straight to the Hurst Castle web site.

Liberty's Reptile and Raptor Centre

Opening times:

10am - 5pm March to October
10am - 4pm Weekends only from November-February

Admission prices:

Adults £7.95
Children £4.95
Family (2+2) £23.50
Senior citizens £6.95

Location: Crow Lane, Ringwood.
Telephone: 01425 476487
Remarks: The best place in the National Park to see birds of prey, owls, snakes, lizards and more. Talks and displays of falconry are held daily throughout the day, so you should be able to catch at least one of these. Allow a couple of hours, more to take in some of the shows.

Go straight to the official Liberty's Raptor and Reptile Centre web site.

Longdown Activity Farm

Opening times:

11th February to 4th November
Open daily - 8th to 24th December for the Grotto only.

Admission prices:

Adults £7.95
Children (3 - 14 yrs) £6.95
Family (2+2) £28.00
Senior Citizens £6.55

Location: Deerleap Lane, Longdown, off the A35 towards Southampton from Ashurst.
Telephone: 023 8029 2837
Remarks: A perfect attraction for a family with younger children. A working farm that allows 'hands-on' activities. Caters for birthday parties and there is also a farm shop on the premises. Allow at least half a day.

Go straight to the official Longdown Activity Farm web site.

New Forest Wildlife Park

Opening times:

Spring/Summer: every day 10.00am - 5.30pm. Last entrance 4.30pm
Autumn/Winter: every day 10.00am - dusk. Last entrance approximately 3.00pm

Admission prices:

Adults £9.95
Children (3 - 16 yrs) £6.95
Family (2+2 or 1+3) £29.50
Seniors (over 60) £8.95
Disabled/special needs adult £8.95; Disabled/special needs child £5.95 (Carers FREE)

Location: Deerleap Lane, Longdown, off the A35 towards Southampton from Ashurst.
Telephone: 02380 292408
Remarks: Medium sized conservation centre caring for many of Europe's native species of animal, including otters, owls, badgers, pole cats, mink, foxes, Scottish wild cats and deer. A great educational half-day out for any animal lover.

Go straight to the official Park web site.

New Forest Museum

Opening times:

10am - 5pm, 7 days a week
Closed over Christmas

Admission prices:

Adult £3.50
Concessions (children, seniors, students) £3.00
Accompanied 16 year olds and under go free

Location: At the eastern end of the main car park in Lyndhurst (the car park is straight off Lyndhurst High Street).
Telephone: 02380 283444
Remarks: A great place to start your New Forest visit is this official Museum and Visitor Centre. Includes detailed Forest information, picture gallery, library and gift shop. Allow an hour.

Go straight to the official web site of the museum.

Paulton's Park

Opening times:

Park open from 10am but check website for 2012 timetable.

Admission prices:

Per Person £24.00 / £21.00 (at gate / internet price)
Children under 1 metre* Free / Free (at gate / internet price)
Family of 3 £69.50 / £60.50 (at gate / internet price)
Family of 4 £92.00 / £80.00 (at gate / internet price)
Family of 5 £115.00 / £100.00 (at gate / internet price)

Location: Ower, on the Southampton-side edge of the National Park boundary. Easiest access is from Junction 2 of the M27 motorway.
Telephone: 02380 814442
Remarks: The area's only major Theme Park. Admission includes access to a good mix of over 50 rides and attractions, all in a very pleasant garden setting. Get there for 'gates open' if you want to see it all, but busy times might force you to return on a 'second day' pass.

Go straight to the official Paulton's Park web site.

Other New Forest attractions & places of interest within the National Park

Bolderwood Deer Sanctuary

Bolderwood Deer Sanctuary Location: Approximately 3 miles west of Lyndhurst at the northern end of the Bolderwood Ornamental Drive.
Remarks: About the most popular of the free New Forest attractions. A very pleasant area with graded walks through the giant Redwood trees. Viewing platforms overlook the fenced areas where a number of fallow deer are kept. Rangers feed the deer at 2pm everyday, but deer sightings aren't guaranteed.
Further information:
Read more about Bolderwood Deer Sanctuary.

Bolderwood Arboretum Ornamental Drive

Bolderwood Ornamental Drive Location: Runs from the A35 to Bolderwood Deer Sanctuary. Access from the A35 is 2 miles from Lyndhurst.
Remarks: A scenic drive on a fairly narrow tree-lined road that can get rather crowded during the summer months. A nice road to cycle on and there are several car parks and walks along the way. Continues into Rhinefield Ornamental Drive across the A35.

Bolton's Bench

Location: Eastern side of Lyndhurst.
Remarks: A small sized but major New Forest attraction. Open grassy lawns and the proximity to Lyndhurst town centre make Bolton's Bench a popular place to come and relax.
Further information:
Read more about Bolton's Bench.

Knightwood Oak

Knightwood Oak Location: At the southern end of Bolderwood Arboretum Ornamental Drive. The car park is on the right, very soon after turning off the A35.
Remarks: The largest oak in the New Forest and probably the oldest, thought to be around 400 years old. The tree is now fenced off from the public, but it's a pleasant spot for a walk and worth seeing if you find yourself on the Ornamental Drive.
Further information:
Read more about the Knightwood Oak.

Lepe Country Park

Lepe Country Park Location: Lepe, adjoining Calshot Spit on the south-eastern coastline of the National Park.
Remarks: The most popular of the coastal New Forest attractions, Lepe is a pleasant place to relax and take in excellent views of the Solent and Isle Of Wight. The main park area is open grass, fronted by a long shingle beach with cafeteria and small information centre.
Free to visit other than the normal car parking charges.
Further information:
Read more about Lepe Country Park.

New Forest Reptile Centre

New Forest Reptile Centre Location: Approximately 2 miles west of Lyndhurst at Holidays Hill, on the A35.
Remarks: A small but very worthwhile attraction where you can see all species of the snakes, lizards, frogs and toads that can be found in the Forest. The animals are in open-air pens and it's best to go on a warm day, when there's more chance of the animals basking in the sun.
Further information:
Read more about the New Forest Reptile Centre

Rhinefield Ornamental Drive

Rhinefield Ornamental Drive Location: Runs from the A35 to Brockenhurst. Access from the A35 is 2 miles from Lyndhurst.
Remarks: Passes Rhinefield House Hotel and is best seen in May/June when the huge rhododendron bushes are in flower. Access to Rhinefield Arboretum with several nice walks.
Further information:
Read more about Rhinefield Ornamental Drive.

Rufus Stone

Rufus Stone Location: Canterton Glen, just off the A31 eastbound before Junction 1 of the M27 motorway.
Remarks: A stone marking the spot where King William (Rufus) II was killed by an arrow in 1100AD, either accidentally or otherwise. The pub 100 metres away takes its name from the nobleman who allegedly shot the arrow, Sir Walter Tyrell.
Further information:
Read more about the Rufus Stone.