| Winchester is the administrative capital of the county | | | | English, meaning 'broken wooded hill'. The village has a |
| of Hampshire. It is without doubt one of the most | | | | mainline railway station and it is possible to catch a |
| beautiful towns in all of England. However, if you tire | | | | train from London - and Winchester - to the village. |
| of town life, you could take a short drive to the New | | | | The local parish church is called St Nicholas's and has a |
| Forest and visit some of the most beautiful villages | | | | fine Norman doorway in the south porch. Beside the |
| England has to offer.The New Forest was set aside | | | | church the visitor may be surprised to find the 'New |
| as a Royal hunting ground at around 1079 by William | | | | Zealand war cemetery'. Neat rows of tombstones |
| the Conqueror. It is now the biggest area of largely | | | | commemorate over one hundred soldiers who died in |
| unspoilt countryside in the lowlands of southern Britain | | | | a nearby hospital during World War I. The village also |
| and one of the few medieval forests remaining in | | | | has many fine old pubs and it is not unusual to see |
| Europe. Against all the odds, an ancient landscape of | | | | forest ponies meandering down the villages roads. |
| majestic woodlands, gorse-covered heathland and | | | | The village is also the starting point of the New |
| boggy valleys has survived into the twenty-first | | | | Forest Cycle Experience.As the name suggests, |
| century. But the forest is not a desolate place. People | | | | Fordingbridge gets its name from the fact that the |
| have been living in the forest well before its creation | | | | village has a bridge that spans a river, the river Avon. |
| as a Royal hunting ground. Indeed, the original | | | | In fact, the most photographed aspect of the town |
| inhabitants were allowed to remain in the forest. | | | | is the ancient seven-arch Great Bridge, best seen |
| Today, the Forest is home to a collection of some of | | | | from the recreation ground. Just outside the village |
| the most quintessential of English villages; quaint | | | | you can visit the Rockbourne Roman Villa. Excavated |
| Norman churches, small, cosy pubs, greens and idyllic | | | | in the 1950s by a local enthusiast, A T Morley-Hewitt; |
| thatched cottages.Although a village, Lyndhurst has | | | | over fifty rooms were discovered. The museum |
| always been considered the 'capital of the New | | | | displays some of the artefacts found in the digs and |
| Forest'. It is in this village that you can find the New | | | | shows many aspects of life in a Romano-British villa |
| Forest Museum. It tells the story of the New Forest | | | | of the second to fourth centuries. The village of |
| through a seventeen minute audio-visual show and a | | | | Rockbourne is considered by many to be one of |
| series of well-arranged displays and dioramas. Visiting | | | | Hampshire's prettiest villages. Thatched cottages line |
| the museum is recommended as the first stop for | | | | both sides of the village street, with a clear chalk |
| the visitor, in order to gain an oversight of the | | | | stream running along one side.Beaulieu is one of the |
| history of the Forest and what it has to offer. The | | | | most visited villages in the New Forest. The village is |
| village church, St Michael and All Angels, is a modern | | | | extremely picturesque, with thatched cottages and |
| building, built in the 1860s. The fine east window | | | | the scenic backdrop of the tidal estuary of the |
| contains a superb stained glass window, designed by | | | | Beaulieu River. It is not unusual to see a group of |
| Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris. Near the | | | | donkeys walking down the main street, where |
| parish church is Queen's House - always known as | | | | several of the Georgian red-brick cottages are |
| King's House when a king is on the throne. This was | | | | tastefully adapted as souvenir shops or tea-rooms. |
| formerly the residence of the Lord Warden of the | | | | The Palace House and its grounds form one of the |
| Forest, but now houses the offices of the Forestry | | | | most popular sites in the south of England. A single |
| Commission. Lyndhurst has two cricket pitches. Near | | | | entrance fee covers not only the House but also the |
| the Beaulieu road, Bolton's Bench cricket pitch has a | | | | remains of Beaulieu Abbey and the National Motor |
| thatched pavilion. It is overlooked by Bolton's Bench, | | | | Museum. If Beautiful cars of the past are your thing, |
| a hillock crowned with a distinctive yew, with seats | | | | then the Motor Museum is a must see.There are |
| beneath. The other pitch is called Swan Green and | | | | many more pretty, smaller villages in the New Forest. |
| gets its name from the Swan Inn which overlooks it. | | | | Each has its own charms and is worth exploring. Once |
| This green is considered to be one of the most | | | | a visitor enters the Forest he or she is hard pressed |
| picturesque village scenes in Hampshire.Lyndhurst may | | | | to leave. Its gentle, beguiling beauty has been |
| be the 'capital' but Brokenhurst is the largest of the | | | | appreciated by visitors for hundreds of years. |
| New Forest villages. The name comes from old | | | | |