UK Tourist & Leisure Attractions - New Forest

This is Forest Lodge, the comfortable cottage in Brockenhurst and our base for our four day New Forest short break.  As you can see, the autumn weather was lovely and sunny - so far.

On our first day we drove the short distance to Burley and found this handy visitor info board to study.  Burley is a traditional New Forest village that's steeped in dragon and witch legends.  Oo-er!

Burley's New Forest Cider Farm seemed to draw us towards it, so we sampled and purchased some scrumpy Snake-Catcher cider.  As we loaded it...

...into the boot this handsome guy came up for a sample of our cider!  Ponies and cattle roam freely in Burley, as they do throughout the New Forest.

At the Burley Fudge Shop we bought some yummy fudge.  A wide variety of different flavors and colours were available, all made on the premises.  Yes, no doubt a typical tourist draw, but it kept us happy.

Off to Lyndhurst next and an interesting visit to the New Forest Museum and Visitor Centre where we discovered the forest's unique traditions and heritage.  Entrance on our visit was £3.

Mike's always keen to try everything, here he came a cropper checking out a 'feel what's inside' exhibit at the New Forest Centre and felt ... a slithering snake!  Yuck!

Day 2 and another bright one so we decided on a crunchy walk from Milford-on-Sea in Hampshire along the pebbly Hurst Spit to...

...Hurst Castle.  The castle was built in 1544 as part of Henry VIII's coastal defences to defend the western approach to the Solent.  On arrival we...

...found a cracking sun trap on the castle's southern side to enjoy our picnic lunch, complete with a grand view across to the Isle of Wight just ¾ mile away!

Now for some history...  Hurst Castle was extended in the 1860s with large east and west wings added, housing a total of 30 heavy guns.  During WWII, lookouts, searchlights and gun emplacements were constructed on the roofs.

The entrance to Hurst Castle cost £3.20.

Er, more history...  Charles l was briefly imprisoned in Hurst Castle in 1648 before being executed, and during the 19th and 20th centuries the castle was further strengthened.  Inside the castle grounds we followed these narrow railway tracks which were used to transport the 12½ inch shells to the...

...huge 38 ton guns.  These could fire the shell some 3½ miles, something to remember if sailing past!

We found plenty of static information boards inside Hurst Castle, but no modern interactive displays.

Here's a mock-up display of how the soldiers entertained themselves off-duty.

We'd wandered Hurst Castle for a few happy hours from the east wing to the west wing, learning much of the castle's fascinating history along the way.

After some welcome refreshment in the cosy castle café, it was time to head back the 1½ miles along Hurst Spit to Milford-on-Sea.  On the way...

...Mike posed for this cracking picture with The Needles across on the Isle of Wight as a scenic backdrop.

A ferry operates to Hurst Spit from Keyhaven for those less able or if you don't fancy the walk along the shingle from Milford.  So, what do we think?  Well, our visit to Hurst Castle was abundantly absorbing, and it sure was hard to believe it was mid-October in the warm autumn sunshine.  In fact, we had better weather in the New Forest than on our earlier summer 2007 Shropshire holiday!

Please see our UK tourist resources for more New Forest websites.

On the next page we continue our enjoyable New Forest break, visiting Buckler's Hard, a Wildlife Park and a walk around Brockenhurst >>>