New Forest Tour Day 2014

We've been very lucky with the weather lately, the sun has been shining non-stop here and it's been great for getting out and about. The lovely weather has arrived just in time to welcome the New Forest Tour Bus back for its 2014 season; kicking off on the 28th June the open top bus returned to cover its three routes across the New Forest calling at various towns, villages and attractions throughout the forest.

Our itinerary for the day

Shorefield Country Park and Lytton Lawn Touring Park are on the blue route for the second year running after the new coastal route was added in 2013. We had great success with the New Forest Tour last year and many of our guests took advantage of the opportunity to explore the New Forest without having to take the car.

The first bus we caught, the red route from Lyndhurst

To publicise the return of the New Forest Tour, a social media day was organised by the New Forest National Park Authority and we were lucky enough to be invited along with several other business' that are located on the three routes. So, on a beautiful Wednesday morning we all assembled at Lyndhurst ready to catch the first bus on the red route to Burley, which is well known for its history of witchcraft. We stopped in Burley for an hour, giving us time to properly explore the village with its vast array of speciality shops including New Forest Cider, Burley Fudge Shop, gift shops and much more. There were also plenty of New Forest ponies wondering about, some had even taken up residence in the pub car park, probably waiting for a drink to cool down.  

New Forest ponies waiting for the pub to open

After a stroll around Burley, we hopped on the blue route which visits some lovely coastal locations including Keyhaven, Barton-on-Sea, Milford-on-Sea and of course Lymington, which is where we got off to take a look around. Lymington is not only fantastic for shopping but it also has a wonderful cobbled street leading down to Lymington Quay. There are boat trips that leave from the Quay ranging from short river trips to longer cruises to the Needles, you can also catch the ferry to the Isle of Wight from here.

Lymington Quay

Once we'd explored Lymington we hopped on the New Forest Tour once again, this time it was the green route, which takes you to some fantastic attractions such as Exbury Gardens and Beaulieu Motor Museum. It also stops at the popular village of Brockenhurst, a great place to spot ponies roaming free amongst the village. The green route also took us back to Lyndhurst, where we concluded our day out on the New Forest Tour.

Beaulieu

I had a great day on the tour and got to see so many sights and attractions throughout the forest, a highlight was seeing plenty of New Forest ponies and foals wondering through the forest. I can highly recommend a trip on the New Forest Tour, a great way to see the beautiful New Forest in all its glory. Take a look at some of our photos from the New Forest Tour day on our Facebook page.

A great time had by all on the New Forest Tour

The New Forest Tour runs every day until the 14th September and tickets can be purchased on-board or from the New Forest Tour website, where you'll receive 10% off your ticket price when you book online. WI