Winchester is the administrative capital of the county of Hampshire. It is without doubt one of the most beautiful towns in all of England. However, if you tire of town life, you could take a short drive to the New Forest and visit some of the most beautiful villages England has to offer.

The New Forest was set aside as a Royal hunting ground at around 1079 by William the Conqueror. It is now the biggest area of largely unspoilt countryside in the lowlands of southern Britain and one of the few medieval forests remaining in Europe. Against all the odds, an ancient landscape of majestic woodlands, gorse-covered heathland and boggy valleys has survived into the twenty-first century. But the forest is not a desolate place. People have been living in the forest well before its creation as a Royal hunting ground. Indeed, the original inhabitants were allowed to remain in the forest. Today, the Forest is home to a collection of some of the most quintessential of English villages; quaint Norman churches, small, cosy pubs, greens and idyllic thatched cottages.

Although a village, Lyndhurst has always been considered the 'capital of the New Forest'. It is in this village that you can find the New Forest Museum. It tells the story of the New Forest through a seventeen minute audio-visual show and a series of well-arranged displays and dioramas. Visiting the museum is recommended as the first stop for the visitor, in order to gain an oversight of the history of the Forest and what it has to offer. The village church, St Michael and All Angels, is a modern building, built in the 1860s. The fine east window contains a superb stained glass window, designed by Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris. Near the parish church is Queen's House - always known as King's House when a king is on the throne. This was formerly the residence of the Lord Warden of the Forest, but now houses the offices of the Forestry Commission. Lyndhurst has two cricket pitches. Near the Beaulieu road, Bolton's Bench cricket pitch has a thatched pavilion. It is overlooked by Bolton's Bench, a hillock crowned with a distinctive yew, with seats beneath. The other pitch is called Swan Green and gets its name from the Swan Inn which overlooks it. This green is considered to be one of the most picturesque village scenes in Hampshire.

Lyndhurst may be the 'capital' but Brokenhurst is the largest of the New Forest villages. The name comes from old English, meaning 'broken wooded hill'. The village has a mainline railway station and it is possible to catch a train from London - and Winchester - to the village. The local parish church is called St Nicholas's and has a fine Norman doorway in the south porch. Beside the church the visitor may be surprised to find the 'New Zealand war cemetery'. Neat rows of tombstones commemorate over one hundred soldiers who died in a nearby hospital during World War I. The village also has many fine old pubs and it is not unusual to see forest ponies meandering down the villages roads. The village is also the starting point of the New Forest Cycle Experience.

As the name suggests, Fordingbridge gets its name from the fact that the village has a bridge that spans a river, the river Avon. In fact, the most photographed aspect of the town is the ancient seven-arch Great Bridge, best seen from the recreation ground. Just outside the village you can visit the Rockbourne Roman Villa. Excavated in the 1950s by a local enthusiast, A T Morley-Hewitt; over fifty rooms were discovered. The museum displays some of the artefacts found in the digs and shows many aspects of life in a Romano-British villa of the second to fourth centuries. The village of Rockbourne is considered by many to be one of Hampshire's prettiest villages. Thatched cottages line both sides of the village street, with a clear chalk stream running along one side.

Beaulieu is one of the most visited villages in the New Forest. The village is extremely picturesque, with thatched cottages and the scenic backdrop of the tidal estuary of the Beaulieu River. It is not unusual to see a group of donkeys walking down the main street, where several of the Georgian red-brick cottages are tastefully adapted as souvenir shops or tea-rooms. The Palace House and its grounds form one of the most popular sites in the south of England. A single entrance fee covers not only the House but also the remains of Beaulieu Abbey and the National Motor Museum. If Beautiful cars of the past are your thing, then the Motor Museum is a must see.

There are many more pretty, smaller villages in the New Forest. Each has its own charms and is worth exploring. Once a visitor enters the Forest he or she is hard pressed to leave. Its gentle, beguiling beauty has been appreciated by visitors for hundreds of years.

Robin O'Brien
http://winchester-tourist-information.com/