New Forest Audio Guides

This is a suggested itinery for a tour of the New Forest, stopping off at all PodVisit locations. Of course you can stop or start the tour wherever you like and spend as much or a little time at a location as you wish.

Welcome to the New Forest (01). The New Forest - Nova Foresta - was created as a royal hunting ground by William the Conqueror over 900 years ago. Its unique status ever since has meant much of its natural wilderness and woodlands have been preserved along with the Commoning way of life.



The New Forest is steeped in history - so there's no better place to start your tourThe Rufus Stone than at the Rufus Stone (02) off the A31. The monument marks the reputed site of the spot where King William II 'Rufus' was killed in a hunting accident. Or was it murder? - his death is one of the great mysteries of English history.

Take the A337 to Lyndhurst - the 'Capital' of the New Forest. The Queen's House (04) has been the site of the seat of power in the New Forest for centuries. It houses the Court of Verderers - the ancient body which has run the forest and help preserve its unique way of life since medieval times.

Next to the Queen's House on Lyndhurst High Street is the Parish Church of St Michael and All Angels (03). The spire dominates the skyline of the village and there is a literary connection in the church graveyard.



Walk down the village high street - stopping off at the antique stores or tea shops. Bolton's Bench, Lyndhurst The New Forest Museum at the village car park explains more about the forest's past. Continue down the high street and out of the village until you come to Bolton's Bench (05) on the main Southampton Road (A35).

The popular beautyspot is an iron age mound with views over the forest's lawns, woods and heathland.

It's also one of the many places where you can see the famous New Forest Ponies (08). These small horses are owned by Commoners and are part of every picture postcard New Forest scene.

Take the A35 out of Lyndhurst (signposted Christchurch) but immediatley turn right at the Swan Inn towards Emery Down and follow the signs to Bolderwood.

Park at the Millyford Bridge car park and cross the road to see the Portuguese Fireplace(23) a poignant reminder of the role the New Forest played in World War I.



Take the Bolderwood Arboretum Ornamental Drive from the car park. Stop at the Knightwood car park for the Knightwood Oak (21) a short walk throughThe Knightwood Oak Monarch's Grove. Over 400 years old, 'the Queen of the Forest' is one of the biggest, most famous and certainly the most regal tree in the whole of the New Forest.

Walk back along the Bolderwood Arboretum Ornamental Drive (in the direction of Bolderwood) and take the first right into Holiday Hills Inclosure (22) to learn about how the forest's most valuable asset - its wood - has been used over the years.

Continue on the Emery Down to Bolderwood Road until your reach the Bolderwood car park. This is a great place for deerspotting (24) as there is a specially constructed platform for viewing herds of fallow deer which are fed here every day between Easter and the end of September.

Deer have played an important role in the life and landscape - learn more about them in Deer in the New Forest (25).

Go further down the Bolderwood Arboretum Ornamental Drive and turn right onto the A35. Turn off to the right 400 metres after passing Viney Hill Car Park and follow the road to Burley.

Parking is available in the village centre. At the war memorial discover how the village got it's reputation for all things to do with witchcraft (16). The Queen's Head public house was once a den for smugglers (17) hiding contraband which had been brought illegally from France and landed at Christchurch.



You can walk up Castle Hill Lane from the centre of the village, or go to ValView from Castle Hilles Moor car park, for views from Castle Hill (18) the site of an iron age hill fort. You can walk down onto Church Moor (19) from the hilltop or continue along Castle Hill Lane onto Burley Beacon (20) to hear tell about the legend of the dragon which once lived amongst the trees!

Leave Burley by Station Road heading towards Brockenhurst (07). The village on the railway line boasts some beautiful waters flowing through it while you can visit the source of the Lymington River just outside the village at Water Copse Inclosure (off the A337, opposite Balmer Lawn).

One of the village's most famous residents was Brusher Mills (08) - a snakecatcher with a few tall tales to tell!

Take the B3055 from Balmer Lawn to Beaulieu. On your right, Beaulieu Heath was a major World War II airfield but as Flying in the Forest (10) explains, aviation enthusiasts had been using this part of the forest for years before the war. You can visit the site of the Beaulieu Aerodrome at Hatchett Pond by diverting down the B3054 towards Lymington.

Returning to Beaulieu, park in the village car park and learn more about Beaulieu's Past (09) However Beaulieu is not all that it seems - Haunted Beaulieu (10) tells of the ghosts, ghouls and spirits which local residents have encountered over the years.



The beautiful Beaulieu River (13) snakes through the New Forest and the tidal stretch Buckler's Hardof the river. It's a tranquil haven for birdspotters and sailors but its banks have borne witness to some important events in English history.

You can follow a riverside walk from the Montagu Arms Hotel at Beaulieu to Buckler's Hard (13) to hear the story of how this village on the banks of the river helped build the mighty Royal Navy. Alternatively, follow the signs for the short drive or cycle to Buckler's Hard museum from Beaulieu.

Leave Beaulieu by the B3054 Beaulieu Road (towards Southampton) and turn right onto Summer Lane travelling through Exbury with its world famous gardens.

Continue along Summer Lane until you reach the coast, past the Coastguard houses and stop at Lepe Country Park's car park.



Lepe through time (14) tells the remarkable story of this part of the Hampshire shoreline and how it has changed over the years.

Wartime Lepe (16) would have been a very different place - during World War II, this was one of the secret launching areas for the D-Day Invasion of Normandy. Thousands of men left Lepe's shores and many didn't return.

You can still see the emplacements and moorings used to launch the invasion fleet and there is anchor memorial to those who paid the ultimate price on the beaches of Normandy.
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PodVisits are engaging guides to the New Forest which you can download to your iPod or MP3 player.

It means you can listen to them in some of the New Forest's most popular destinations including Beaulieu, Burley, Lepe and Lyndhurst. Listen to them in your own time, at your own pace.

You can hear about the New Forest's history - the murder mystery at Rufus Stone; how the New Forest played its part in World War II and meet characters like Brusher Mills, the snakecatcher.

To download all 25 New Forest PodVisits MP3 files which accompany this tour, along with location information, maps and green tips, just go to www.podvisits.com.