Scenic Drives & Hidden Hazelnut-Brown Taverns to Visit in Autumn
There are good times and great times to enjoy a drive through the beautiful New Forest National Park...
Although picturesque year-round and in any weather, for many, autumn holds something special. Perhaps the magic is in the golden afternoon light and the chestnut hues this season brings. The amber and maple leaves dancing in the crisp breeze, the hazelnut-brown taverns set, like a photo, amongst ancient trees. The warmth of the sun lingering until the last days – the last leaves – have fallen.
The New Forest was designated as a National Park in 2005 to protect its beauty and its wildlife, rich and abundant for all to enjoy. So, when you do visit our New Forest hotel set in this most magical location this autumn, a scenic drive should certainly be on the cards in order to truly absorb the feeling and the beauty of autumn.
Brockenhurst to Beaulieu via Lyndhurst
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20-mile loop
Set off along spectacular forest roads to visit the quintessentially charming village of Beaulieu, home to the National Motor Museum, a popular attraction and a favourite thing to do in the New Forest for any age, whether you’re passionate about all things motoring or not. There’s also the riverside 18th century shipbuilding village of Buckler’s Hard with museum, café and pub to discover. Continue your drive towards Lyndhurst, passing New Forest ponies as you wind through the National Park, with more views of the vast wildlife-rich heathland.
Lyndhurst is yet another picturesque New Forest town near our Hampshire hotel, where you can wander a characterful high street and visit the New Forest Heritage Centre.
Fancy a walk? Head to Bolton’s Bench, a hilltop at the end of Lyndhurst high street offering panoramic views and a peaceful spot to stop and simply relax.
But if it’s quaint age-old taverns and hidden spots your after, look no further than The Oak Inn just outside of Lyndhurst. The timber-framed pub invites you in from the crisp autumn air to sit down to warming drinks, fireside food and local ale and cider.
Brockenhurst to Burley via Lyndhurst
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19.5-mile loop
From our Brockenhurst hotel, drive along Burley Road, ever-changing between vast open heathland, grassland and copse with endless opportunities to spot our New Forest ponies, donkeys and in the autumn, the snuffling Pannage pigs. An ancient practice dating back to the time of William the Conqueror – around 600 domestic pigs are released to roam freely through the National Park to forage for fallen acorns, chestnuts and beech mast that are toxic for our ponies and cattle.
Enjoy the winding drive to reach the village of Burley; a place steeped in folklore; it’s long been known as the ‘witches’ village’ and famous for the A Coven of Witches Gift Shop. Stop here to peruse the shops and then look out for the cider barrel outside the post office that will lead you to New Forest Cider, Burley – making delicious local cider and selling local farm shop produce since 1988. It’s warm, welcoming place where you can select some favourite tipples to take home, and even try the unpasteurised, real cider straight from the barrels.
Once your car is loaded with local produce, head off from Burley on Lyndhurst Road, with small forest car parks, including Woods Corner along the way, where you can stop and enjoy a walk or simply stop and listen to the birds on route. Then make your way back to our New Forest hotel via Lyndhurst.
Rhinefield Ornamental Drive via Bolderwood Deer Sanctuary, Emery Down and Minstead
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19.5-mile loop
A classic scenic New Forest drive, the first stop after leaving our Hampshire hotel is Rhinefield Ornamental Drive, but feel free, along the way, to pull in at forest car parks such as Puttles Bridge on route, where you can stretch the legs or enjoy a flask of coffee beside a babbling brook under the crimson leaves.
Continuing to Ornamental Drive, here you can find the ancient giants of the National Park; stop in at the Blackwater Arboretum and walk the Tall Trees Trail, a short route that winds through this spectacular area of woodland but a truly unforgettable autumn walk that transports you as you take in the impressive Douglas firs and redwoods, planted in the late 1850s. This is forest bathing at its best!
Back on Rhinefield Ornamental Drive, and now head to the Bolderwood Deer Sanctuary where you can take another short walk from the car park out to the purpose-built platform overlooking a deer meadow.
Continue the beautiful woodland drive, leading you to small village of Emery Down; another lesser known spot, why not stop here at a traditional 17th century tavern among the trees, The New Forest Inn, for a spot of lunch?
Drive on towards the quaint village of Minstead, where The Trusty Servant, a charming country pub brimming with character, may lure you in on a chilly autumn afternoon to sit by the fire with a hot chocolate. But plan to leave with plenty of light left to enjoy the drive back to our Brockenhurst hotel via Lyndhurst at golden hour. Especially wonderful during autumn, glimpse the last of the sun flickering through the trees and the glowing amber forest floor alight in the evening sun.
What could be more relaxing on an autumn day during your midweek break than meandering drives through some of the New Forest’s most spectacular landscapes and stops at lesser known local taverns. Take your time, stop and capture the drive along the way at the many forest car parks, take short walks here and there, and never rush your journey – you are on a relaxing break, there is nothing to do but slow down and take it all in.
