New Forest? (Romantic break from London)

[Loopylooni]

Hi,

Looking for advice about the New Forest as i really dont know the area, and where best to stay as a couple locationwise. Air bnb is showing lovely places nearer Dorset/Shaftesbury etc but I'm confused if that's nearish! We just want a self contained romantic place where we can make breakfast, a few walks, maybe see the beachfront, good foodie places.

Or any other tips for 2-3hrs drive?

New forest is actually in Hampshire- you want to search for cottages at places like brockenhurst, lymington, lyndhurst, burley, beaulieu. If it’s in Dorset it’s not the New Forest but there is still some lovely countryside around the Jurassic coast. Studland is a cute little village and has the Pig on the Beach pub which has amazing food and a nice beach.

Whitstable, Deal and Rye, although not in the New Forest, are lovely places for a short break by the coast.

Went to a lovely Air BnB in a place called Boldre, just north of Lymington. It was a converted garage, really well done. One large bedroom, shower/toilet upstairs and one living area with kitchenette downstairs.
Perfect to have a breakfast and head out for the day. Pub with restaurant 10-15 mins walk away, Lymington about 30 mins walk.
Really beautiful! Lovely to drive around the villages stopping for lunch in quaint little pubs and just enjoying the scenery, including the wild New Forest ponies that used to come right up to our windows...

Beaulieu is lovely (idyllic) and a good place for foodies. Has a nice walk down to the water. There is a hotel there if no AirBNB - the Montague arms. Brockenhurst is also really nice, or Lymington.

PM me I have a place in Lyndhurst - known as the capital of the New Forest.

Shaftesbury is nearly an hour from the New Forest, so not really close although it is lovely! Brockenhurst is a great place to base yourself as it is close to lots of restaurants and forest walks. It is also on the mainline so you can also get the train to Bournemouth or Southampton. I would personally avoid Lyndhurst as the one way system means the traffic is horrendous during weekends and holidays.

I think Brockenhurst is probably the nicest place to base yourself from, good walks in all directions but you can’t really go wrong in most places.

Lime Wood Hotel is pretty stunning for food, I hear the Pig is too. Both a bit pricey though. Fave country pub on the Forest is Royal Oak Fritham, just perfect but there are loads of others.

Barton is a decent beach, a little bit of sand when the tides out, Mudeford/Avon beach a few miles along is proper sand but busier.

Great advice everyone - ill start looking at Brockenhurst right now! Any tips on restaurants/things to do will be greatly appreciated. @MalewhoisLaffinalltheway that sounds exactly what we would like to be doing/seeing!

Off topic - is AirBnB the only place to look at for nice cottages? It seems like they have the market but wondered if others have any recs for other sites?

Just another little point of interest, one of the neighbouring villages to Boldre has a pub, I think it's called the East End Arms, that is owned by John Illsley the bass player of Dire Straits in their pomp. I believe he's still a regular if you're a fan!

Limewood in New Forrest. Gorgeous place couldn't fault it.

The Pig in Brockenhurst is lovely, to stay or just for food.

@CrackedHeels2 love your name! Which rooms would you recommend? I cant seem to find anywhere nice air Bnb wise so perhaps the pig will be an option!

A spot in the woods hotel

Newforst wildlife park

We stayed in the main house, room was great. Other rooms look lovely too but we haven't stayed in those. It is well located for the rest of the forest, food is amazing. If you go, enjoy!

@CrackedHeels2 just had a look and not sure i can justify 400 a night - sigh......that's all that seems to be left!

I was about to recommend the Pig also!

Balmer Lawn is a nice hotel. Also try newforestcottages.co.uk for accommodation. There are some nice B&Bs in Brock too, so just search for that on Google.

Another vote for Balmer Lawn. It's stunning at sunrise with mist, deer the morning and evening sun with cattle. It's a great base for other parts of the New Forest.

Rhinefield house is pretty plush too. Nice setting and food. Not cheap but not mega bucks either. No idea on availability.

I live in the New Forest. I would avoid Lyndhurst as all the tourists are there and the one way system is a traffic bottleneck which causes literally miles of traffic jams in the season. Plus most of the shops are just full of touristy tat.
I would suggest Beaulieu as one of the most beautiful places. I can’t seem to do a link but google The Duke’s Bathhouse holiday cottage at Buckler’s Hard nearby. It is right on the Beaulieu river and very peaceful. Dog friendly too.

Just to clarify- there are two pigs ( small chain).

pig in the forest- brockenhurst
pig on the beach- Studland

There are actually 11 Pig hotels with a further 4 planned this year. However The Pig at Brock is the original. https://www.thepighotel.com/

Other places to consider include Carey’s Manor in Brock, Forest Park, New Park Hotel or perhaps Burley Manor. There’s also The White Buck at Burley which is a pub with rooms.

I’d have a good dig using place names on airbnb as there are loads of locals doing lovely romantic retreats.

Lyndhurst is a bit of a one way system.
Beaulieu has the National Motor Museum and Beaulieu Palace house and grounds.
Burley is the home of our white witches.
Lymington is a Georgian town with a charter market on Saturdays, largest sea water lido complete with inflatables course, quaint cobbled street to the quayside and salt marsh walks or cycles. Hire a bike or e-bike on the cobbles.
Brockenhurst is really pretty with a fab bakery and lovely walks to Bank to The Oak pub.

Try Sykes or holidaycottages.com

https://www.independentcottages.co.uk/newforest/woodside-studio-ref2887

This one is owned by some friends of mine. Proper forest location only 5 minutes from junction 1 of M27. 5 minutes from Lyndhurst & Emery Down,15 minutes from Brock and 25 minutes from Lymington.

Ideally we were looking for a nice, self contained house/cottage where we could cook etc. Then some nice walks,drives. The ones on air bnb do seem a bit old fashioned so maybe im asking too much!