Located in the southwest corner of the New Forest National Park, Holmsley holidays are true back-to-nature retreats with picturesque views loaded with the forest’s free-roaming ponies, donkeys and thriving woodland wildlife. Time-trodden paths that criss-cross the forest and heathlands lie waiting to be explored, and most will lead you to somewhere great for lunch or dinner.
More an area than a village, Holmsley is a magnet for walkers and cyclists due to its prettiness, relatively flat walks, and well-signposted gravel tracks. The 4.5mile there-and-back walk along the old railway line is a favourite with locals who know yummy cakes and cream teas are waiting for them halfway at Holmsley Tea Rooms, which used to be the old station house until it was closed, along with the railway line in 1964. The views surrounding the walk are typical of the area, with velvety heather plains sprinkled with gorse and wildflowers, streams, and ancient woods. Come autumn, the landscape is awash in fiery orange, gold and red hues with mushrooms, fungi and berry-laden hedgerows of rosehips, tayberries, and blackberries.
Towards the village of Bransgore, you’ll find the remains of Holmsley Airfield from WWII. You can still see where the runways were carved into the land by the absence of brightly coloured gorse bushes dotting the landscape. There’s a memorial by the campsite and an area of hardstanding which serves as a drive-in movie attraction during the summer and Christmas.
From your holiday cottage in Holmsley, you’ll find some lovely dining pubs in the surrounding villages of Burley, Bashley, Bransgore and Brockenhurst. The villages each have shops if you want to grab something delicious to rustle something up for dinner, and there is a selection of supermarkets in the towns of New Milton and Christchurch, which are just a 10-minute drive.
Attractions such as Snowtrax dry ski slope and adventure playground, The Sammy Miller Motorbike Museum, Liberty's Owl, Raptor & Reptile Centre, and The New Forest Water Park are all an easy drive from your holiday cottage in Holmsley. The Blue flag, award-winning Avon Beach in Christchurch, is just ten minutes in the car.
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