New Forest

A national park of open heath, ancient woodland and free-roaming ponies, once a royal hunting forest proclaimed in about 1079.

From King's Cross St Pancras: 2 h 35 min by train · 2 h 36 min by car

Travel times by TravelTime

Time there: 1.5–3 h to see all 3 places

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CountrysideForestsNational parksGardens & parksLandmarks

Must-see places

Bolderwood Deer Sanctuary

Nature · A short walk from the Bolderwood car park to a platform overlooking fields where fallow deer are often seen.

Furzey Gardens

Garden · A woodland garden with thatched cottages, tended by people with learning disabilities, with tea rooms on site.

Rufus Stone

Landmark · A monument beside the A31 marking the reputed spot where King William II was killed by an arrow in 1100.

Quick facts

About 5,000 ponies, owned by local commoners, graze the open heath and woodland alongside cattle and pigs, and fallow deer are the commonest of the Forest's wild deer.

Ancient and ornamental woodland, open heathland, river valleys and a coast of mudflats and saltmarsh make up 220 square miles of national park, designated in 2005.

At Bolderwood a short walk reaches a viewing platform over a deer sanctuary, and the Knightwood Oak, over 500 years old, stands nearby on a wheelchair-friendly path.

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