When you mention places like Bournemouth, many think of the beach and some sunshine and generally having a seaside fun time. What if I said, instead of the beach, check out the forest? Yep, just up the road is The New Forest - in many cases if coming from the East direction then you will pass through it to get to Bournemouth.
The New Forest is a fascinating place. Describing it as new, in the first place, is funny as many things point to it being anything up to 12,000 years old - though I'm not sure how many trees there are that old if any. There are some tall and old trees to see though... What really fascinates me though is both the variety of the wildlife and the fact that even the more domestic animals (so to speak) are let to wander free.
When driving through the New Forest you often have to stop or slow down because of a herd of cows walking or some ponies and horses. You often see them walking into the front gardens of houses there, grazing on the grass and possibly leaving a deposit. The fact that these are the rules of the forest amaze me. It's also a fantastic place to go for a walk. Well, there are many places you can pull over and go for a walk as its so large. Often while walking, you'll bump into a horse or two - if you love getting close to wildlife then you'll love that. However, feeding them from your car window while on one of the car parks can mean that you suddenly have 5 or ten horses around you - not that I have ever done that.
I'm digressing a little. We went for a lovely walk out in the New Forest. It's something we do from time to time as we are lucky to live quite close. I tend to drive around 10-15 miles to get really into it. Then we can just step out of the car and walk one of the many trails. By the way, there are quite a few parts of the forest that don't have trees. You'll see some of that in my images below. You sometimes come across a random tree swing or two - though I didn't snap (no pun) any on there.
Time to enjoy a bit of green - and it's fantastic for my kids who love to get out and about.
The kids just love getting active - and this place can provide some fun bits to do
Some nice snaps - that I hope to show just how nice it is to take a wonder...
There are quite a few paths that you can take for your wander. It's better if you come prepared with a backpack full of drinks and snacks - and some good walking boots too.
My daughter loves to be out - though was probably wondering where the park was! Kids and swings.
And to end my show and tell. What about a lovely little flower. It's just one small example of all the lovely landscape you see. There are also many little villages you can find in the forest along with lots of places to stay. Its a fantastic alternative to going to the beach and can offer some great chances for photos for those that, like me, love to take images.