new forest accommodation: The New Forest - England's Newest National Park

new forest accommodation: The New Forest - England's Newest National Park: New Forest accommodation New Forest b&b Bed and Breakfast in the New Forest is as varied as can be, from a small single room b&b loca...

new forest accommodation: The New Forest - England's Newest National Park

new forest accommodation: The New Forest - England's Newest National Park: New Forest accommodation New Forest b&b Bed and Breakfast in the New Forest is as varied as can be, from a small single room b&b loca...

The New Forest - England's Newest National Park

New Forest accommodation

New Forest b&b
Bed and Breakfast in the New Forest is as varied as can be, from a small single room b&b located inside the home of a couple that are supplementing their income by letting out their spare room, to the medium sized bed and breakfasts that have 3 or 4 double rooms with en-suite to let, still within a family home environment but the emphasis is more business-like and usually this will be the lady of the house sole responsibility and income. And finally, New Forest Hotels, which offer bed and breakfast on a nightly basis. usually these are the most expensive option but do not necessarily offer a better standard of accommodation and the usage of the word 'Hotel' in some cases can be a bit misleading. To qualify Hotel status the hotelier must provide a restaurant and evening meals.

New forest self catering holidays
Many of our new forest holidays are centred around self catering cottages, although if you are looking for a luxury cottage in the new forest these can be rather expensive. Typical new forest holiday cottage or holiday homes would cost between £350.00 per week up to £600.00 per week depending upon the season.

Holiday cottage in new forest
A new forest cottage is typically self catering so when considering a holiday cottage you will need to factor in grocery shopping for your family. Most new forest cottages are within easy driving distance of a major food retailer such as Tesco's or Sainsburys etc. So your usual grocery spend can be calculated fairly easily whilst on your holiday.

Lymington; Beautiful Georgian Market Town.

Lymington (population 14,330) is situated on the southern edge of the New Forest, between Southampton and Bournemouth and at the western end of the Solent.

The town is world renown as a sailing resort; there are two large marinas Berthon and Haven and two sailing clubs RLYC and Lymington Town. Close by the sailing clubs is an open-air seawater bath that was built in 1833.

Lymington has a number of interesting new forest cottages and independent shops including some designer boutiques. On Saturday a market is held in the High Street, the origins of which probably date back to the 13th century. At the top of the High Street is the Parish Church, St Thomas Church (circa 1250), from the bottom of the High Street a cobblestone road leads down to the Old Town Quay, still used as a base by commercial fishing boats.

Lymington is surrounded by outstanding natural beauty; to the north are the ancient woodlands and heathlands of the New Forest, covering an area of about 145 square miles, and to the south, the Solent and the Isle of Wight, Wightlink operate a car ferry from Lymington to Yarmouth.

Going west are four miles of coastal nature reserve ending at Hurst Spit which has received European and national recognition as a Site of Special Scientific Interest map.

In summary, one of the benefits of new forest accommodation and staying in one of the many Lymington Hotels you could possibly travel on a day-trip; an area approximately from Southampton to Swanage.

Autumn in the New Forest

Van Gogh would be immersed by the colours changing hue and so will you.

Could there be a better time to visit the new forest? In my opinion, no!  For at this time of year the forest is in its full glory. Visitor levels are lessened affording an experience more personal and almost serene.  It is a quiet time and peaceful yet… also vibrant, as the colours that overwhelm the eyes are in the main still gently tethered to every tree and bush with the ground beneath your feet covered with the crisp and freshly fallen leaves and nuts from a thousand trees. The air is clean and invigorating life is for the living and the soul rejoices in the pleasures upon ones senses.

There is still plenty going on in and around the forest, as the climate this far south in England is quite mild at this time of the year the days are mild but short so favours the earlier bird as the evenings can be rather chilly with the fresh ozone meandering inland from across the sea.  The visitor centre located in Lyndhurst always has an up to date guide of events and places of interest to visit.

Because there are less visitors at this time, the places of interest are more personal, but the biggest benefit could be in the range of new forest accommodation on offer and special deals to be had staying in one of the many new forest hotels which can be found dotted across the national park from Cadnam at the eastern gateway into the new forest to Fordingbridge at the far northwest edge of the forest.

If you are with your family and possibly the family dog, the walks are more accessible during the off-season, especially along the beaches where walking dogs is allowed after the summer season has gone. Many families take advantage of the reduced prices for new forest self catering holidays which all offer reduced rates during the months of November, December, January, February and March.

Whichever venue you choose the new forest will not disappoint and with half term just around the corner you should make your enquiries soon in order to take advantage of this, the last break in the school year before Christmas!

New Forest Cottages cause the housing shortage dilemma?

The new forest has some of the lowest available housing of any district council. Last year for example, the entire housing allocation for the new forest available to council tenants in their search for new forest accommodation was less than 70 properties in total.

 Why? Primarily this is because the new forest district council area is mainly covered by protected forest and greenbelt land. This leaves only very small areas of land available to build upon and the demand for this land is unrivalled even by major cities, which at least, can build upwards in their quest for housing.

To further exacerbate the housing shortage, the new forest is a very popular tourist destination that fuels private investors into buying the available housing for the purpose of short term letting on a buy-to-let basis. This is especially true during the summer months and especially true for the typical new forest cottages which are highly sought after by both investors and holiday makers alike and these cottages represent a huge proportion of the overall availability of new forest accommodation.

Of course nobody would suggest that this practice should stop or be prevented in any way. Tourism is by far the most important resource that the new forest has and supports many small businesses and families alike, in some cases forcing them into new forest bed and breakfast short term accommodations, hence the dilemma! Can a balance be found that allows tourism to flourish at the same time as supporting our housing needs? Not if the new forest district council maintains the strict building code which is out of date taking into account our new housing needs especially as it is so much harder for first-time buyers to enter the private sector when mortgages are harder to find and even harder to afford during this recession.

We all know that the council wish to retain the essence of the area by preventing unsightly developments which could have a devastating impact upon our beautiful surroundings. This being the case, somebody explain the councils recent planning consent that allowed the, unsightly and totally out of character, opening of the ‘99p store’ in Lymington high street? Ludicrous!

Housing is what we need, not a garish store selling cheap junk. Double standards at work by a council full of out-of-touch bureaucrats that just don’t care.

New Forest Hotels are bourn from the demise of the large country estate.

When the large country estate can no longer bear the rising costs of maintenance one popular solution is to transform it into a hotel. Although this is the case for most of the country, noticeably the New Forest has more than it’s fair share. Discarding those that call themselves Hotels, but simply, ‘are not’ by definition most new forest hotels fall into the category of working country estate.

Rhinefield House in the heart of the New Forest is one such example, this grand country house was originally built in 1887 and architecturally is a blend of Tudor and Gothic styles, and offers a fantastic standard of new forest accommodation. Located close to Lyndhurst, Brockenhurst and all the New Forest has to offer, the hotel is only 20 miles from Southampton and Bournemouth.

Previously a Lodge, Rhinefield House was built with no expense spared. It is fitted with chandeliers, intricate carvings and unique touches, but has retained a homely, easy-going feel. In 1877 many of the Crown Lands were "privatised". Grace and Favour appointments lapsed and vacant lodges were leased to private individuals. Rhinefield passed to the hands of the Walker family, which owned Eastwood Colliery, immortalised in the novels of D.H.Lawrence. 

In 1885 the only daughter of the family became engaged to a Lieutenant Munro RN, and her father's engagement present was £250,000 with which to build a family home at Rhinefield. After their marriage in I887 the couple adopted the name Walker-Munro and supervised the construction of an impressive countryseat comprising the Great House, a Hunting Lodge, Stables and a Gate Lodge.

In 1950 the great estate passed into the hands of private investors and for many years was owned by several entities with uncertain ideas about what to do with the estate. In 1989 Sir Richard Branson (Virgin Hotels) started a program of redevelopment to upgrade the now Hotel.

The present owners, Arcadian Hotels, offering new forest b&b at competitive prices are continuing the programme of refurbishment and modification. Once completed, they will have achieved the aims of restoring the great house to a condition worthy of its magnificent New Forest setting.