The Bucklers Hard Story and Maritime Museum is charming and well preserved. In the shop, there, youll see a huge figurehead from HMS Gladiator, which was launched at Bucklers Hard in 1782. Youll also find reconstructed 18th-century cottage interiors which shed light on the history of the village and the river on which it stands. Its not so much a step as a long jump back in time. Very little has changed here since 1800 when this was a shipbuilding centre. Three of the ships which fought under Nelson at Trafalgar were built here, and the Maritime Museum recreates the lives of the shipbuilders of the time through the use of dummies and soundtracks. Beyond the museum are twin rows of shipbuilders cottages, beautifully preserved, as well as a chapel and a pub. If you can spare the time, its worth taking a walk along the river, into the hamlet of Beaulieu. When we got there, we rewarded ourselves with tea at the Montagu Arms Hotel. It costs 5.50 per head, and you have your tea in a lovely conservatory, looking out onto the terrace and gardens. You can drink Russian Caravan loose-leaf tea, and enjoy a full complement of sandwiches, scones and shortbread. Theres nothing more English.
The B3054 road leads back to Lymington, where theres parking available at Gasport Street and Cannon Street. Once a prosperous town thanks to its spa and seaport, there are many charming houses, and cobbled streets. Nowadays, its a popular yachting centre, and the Lymington River is crowded with sails. Milford on Sea is a further three miles away. You can park right next to the seafront there and take a swim or a clifftop walk. Its one of few remaining coastal villages on the south coast today. Some five miles north on the B3058 brings you to Burley Villa School of Riding from where you can ride out into the New Forest on western or English saddles. The school has been run for 25 years. English riding, known as hacking, costs 25 per hour. A two-hour forest trail ride costs 45, with the option of a western-themed sunriser trail (with cooked breakfast) or a sundowner trail (followed by a barbecue). We also do a dude day, where we ride out to Rhinefield Ornamental Drive and have a barbecue there.
Its always popular. The B5038 meets the A35 again in another two miles. Join this eastbound and turn immediately left onto an unclassified road for Burley, which youll enter in a further two miles. The car park there is the only one we came across with a height barrier, but around the back of the coach park is another, informal car park on an open field which will accommodate campervan hire. Take a Burley Wagon ride to explore the area. It departs from the Queens Head pub car park, and the short trail lasts 20 minutes (5), the long trail one hour (12). Within a few minutes, on both rides, youre going through ancient woodland past the church and onto the quiet lanes around the village. In town, youll probably bump into Daisy and Dawn, the village donkeys, who are often guilty of holding up traffic trying to wind through the narrow little village, but no-one minds. The story of the Burley witch, a white witch who arrived in Burley during the 1950s, has seen two village shops spring up opposite each other, with tales of her doings and an array of charms for sale.
After another mile of unclassified road, turn west on the A31 for Ringwood, which lies on the Avon, just beyond the Forests National Park Boundary. Trout fishing is a big draw and this busy market town is full of Georgian and Queen Anne houses. In 1685, after his defeat at the Battle of Sedgemoor, the Duke of Monmouth7 illegitimate son of Charles II, was captured and held near here before being taken to London and executed. Six miles further along the A338 is Fordingbridge, also on The River Avon. It used to be the only exit route to the west from the New Forest, and during the time of William the Conqueror a guard was posted on the old bridge here to arrest deer poachers before they could escape.
Head east for 12 miles on the B3078 through the expanses of
the New Forests heath and (which turns a beautiful purple colour in late summer when the heather blooms and the green bracken is high) then turn right onto an unclassified road at Brook and you will arrive at Stoney Cross, home to the Rufus Stone. The Stone marks the spot where King William II, who was also called Rufus because of his ruddy complexion, was killed by an arrow while hunting here in 1100, Who shot the arrow, and whether it really was an accident, has all descended into myth and allegation, but tradition says it was Sir Walter Tyrell who, probably wisely, fled to France. This seemed like a fitting place to complete my tour - right at the heart of the New Forest, only three miles from where Id began it at Ashurst a number of nights previously. Although the likes of Beaulieu and Milford on Sea are great reasons to head out beyond the parks perimeter, it is here in the middle, with all the forests wild diversity, that you find the essence of the place.
The B3054 road leads back to Lymington, where theres parking available at Gasport Street and Cannon Street. Once a prosperous town thanks to its spa and seaport, there are many charming houses, and cobbled streets. Nowadays, its a popular yachting centre, and the Lymington River is crowded with sails. Milford on Sea is a further three miles away. You can park right next to the seafront there and take a swim or a clifftop walk. Its one of few remaining coastal villages on the south coast today. Some five miles north on the B3058 brings you to Burley Villa School of Riding from where you can ride out into the New Forest on western or English saddles. The school has been run for 25 years. English riding, known as hacking, costs 25 per hour. A two-hour forest trail ride costs 45, with the option of a western-themed sunriser trail (with cooked breakfast) or a sundowner trail (followed by a barbecue). We also do a dude day, where we ride out to Rhinefield Ornamental Drive and have a barbecue there.
Its always popular. The B5038 meets the A35 again in another two miles. Join this eastbound and turn immediately left onto an unclassified road for Burley, which youll enter in a further two miles. The car park there is the only one we came across with a height barrier, but around the back of the coach park is another, informal car park on an open field which will accommodate campervan hire. Take a Burley Wagon ride to explore the area. It departs from the Queens Head pub car park, and the short trail lasts 20 minutes (5), the long trail one hour (12). Within a few minutes, on both rides, youre going through ancient woodland past the church and onto the quiet lanes around the village. In town, youll probably bump into Daisy and Dawn, the village donkeys, who are often guilty of holding up traffic trying to wind through the narrow little village, but no-one minds. The story of the Burley witch, a white witch who arrived in Burley during the 1950s, has seen two village shops spring up opposite each other, with tales of her doings and an array of charms for sale.
After another mile of unclassified road, turn west on the A31 for Ringwood, which lies on the Avon, just beyond the Forests National Park Boundary. Trout fishing is a big draw and this busy market town is full of Georgian and Queen Anne houses. In 1685, after his defeat at the Battle of Sedgemoor, the Duke of Monmouth7 illegitimate son of Charles II, was captured and held near here before being taken to London and executed. Six miles further along the A338 is Fordingbridge, also on The River Avon. It used to be the only exit route to the west from the New Forest, and during the time of William the Conqueror a guard was posted on the old bridge here to arrest deer poachers before they could escape.
Head east for 12 miles on the B3078 through the expanses of
the New Forests heath and (which turns a beautiful purple colour in late summer when the heather blooms and the green bracken is high) then turn right onto an unclassified road at Brook and you will arrive at Stoney Cross, home to the Rufus Stone. The Stone marks the spot where King William II, who was also called Rufus because of his ruddy complexion, was killed by an arrow while hunting here in 1100, Who shot the arrow, and whether it really was an accident, has all descended into myth and allegation, but tradition says it was Sir Walter Tyrell who, probably wisely, fled to France. This seemed like a fitting place to complete my tour - right at the heart of the New Forest, only three miles from where Id began it at Ashurst a number of nights previously. Although the likes of Beaulieu and Milford on Sea are great reasons to head out beyond the parks perimeter, it is here in the middle, with all the forests wild diversity, that you find the essence of the place.
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