New Forest National Park Walks

Step into one of the most unique walking landscapes in England with a hike through the New Forest, where open heathland, ancient woodland and free-roaming wildlife all come together. This is a place that feels completely different to most UK walking spots, with wide open spaces, quiet trails, and that constant sense of nature just doing its own thing.

Wander out across the forest’s famous heathlands, where ponies, cattle and donkeys roam freely, then dip into shaded woodland tracks that have been here for centuries. Routes around areas like Burley, Brockenhurst and Lyndhurst give you a proper mix of terrain, from gravel tracks and sandy paths to boggy sections and peaceful clearings.

There’s history layered into the landscape too. Once a royal hunting ground created by William the Conqueror, the New Forest still carries that sense of age and tradition, with ancient trees, old enclosures and long-established grazing rights still in place today.

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  Tall Trees Trail, Blackwater Arboretum Circular Walk – Ancient Giant Redwoods and Douglas Firs Trees in the New Forest
  This is one of the easiest and most accessible walks in the New Forest, and it’s very special. The Tall Trees Trail at Blackwater Arboretum takes you through a section of forest packed with enormous Douglas firs, redwoods and ornamental trees planted here over a century ago. Some of them absolutely tower above the path, giving parts of the walk a real Pacific Northwest sort of feel, not something you expect in southern England.
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  Burley to Whitten Pond Circular Walk – New Forest Heathland Loop via Shappen Bottom
  This is a walk that shows off the New Forest at its best, it has wide open heathland, ancient woodland edges, wild ponies roaming freely, and that feeling of space you don’t always get in the south of England. Starting from the village of Burley, the route heads straight out onto the common before drifting into quieter areas like Shappen Bottom and Whitten Pond. It’s not a tough walk, but it’s one you’ll remember for the atmosphere alone.