A Spring Holiday in the New Forest
Tim central position of Lyndhurst as the coaching halt for holiday-makers to the Forest established it in popular esteem long before motor-cars were invented, and nothing is now likely to oust it from this important position. Its nearest rival is, as it always has been, Brockenhurst, four miles to the south. The Forest occupies only a very small area of ground, but it is packed with scenic beauty and historic interest. A week is all too short for this beautiful countryside, which besides motoring provides good golf, admirable walks, and hunting, fishing and shooting in season.
The Forest combines so many aspects of sylvan and rural beauty that you will naturally seek the places where the finest views of the country are to be found. At Stony Cross, three miles past Cadnam, on the way to Ringwood, a certain point will provide a prospect of fully thirty miles. Ask for " Shovel Maker's Cottage." At Bramble Hill—Piper's Wait is the exact destination—a magnificent view of the whole Forest can be obtained, while from Longeross Plain you can clearly discern the spire of Salisbury Cathedral, and at Cut Walk Hill, near Lyndhurst, commanding views are to be had of Southampton, The Needles and the Dorset Coast.
Probably the prettiest run by car is on the main road between Lyndhurst and Brockenhurst. 'Over the total distance of four miles, three miles are one long avenue of pine trc-es. The famous Rufus Stone is at Cadnam. The church at Brockenhurst has the proud distinction of being the only one in the Forest men- tioned in the Domesday Book ; a further and more modern distinction is that the Squire of Brockenhurst once inserted the following advertisement in the local newspaper :-
" Hey diddle diddle !
A priest who can fiddle Is wanted for Brockenhurst, Hants.
So ye reverend fellows
With violoncellos Just call in at Johnny More.nt's."
Beaulieu, on its tidal river, is well worth a visit. Buckler's Hard, a renowned shipyard of Nelson's days, contains many memorable associations. Beaulieu Abbey is close by Founded by King John, its ruins are still well preserved. Only five miles away is Lymington, a pleasant seaside resort, which Is largely used by motorists, because boats leave this point for Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight and convey cars across the Solent. Three unspoilt seaside villages are Milford, Barton and Higheliffe. They branch from the main Christchurch mad, and as a change from forest scenery, many pleasant 11°.1111 can be spent there. Quieter even than these are the Illinges of Hythe and Fawley on Southampton Water. A Ilan'''. Iv road runs to them from Beaulieu, but they do not strictly belong to the New Forest.
C. A. R.
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