Ringwood is the gateway to the New Forest if you’re travelling from the west. It’s a small yet thriving town with a friendly community who love putting on events! Ringwood is lovely to spend time pottering around the shops and streets. The roads, lanes and squares are home to a mish-mash of more recent (as in turn of the century) character properties and historic homes dating back to the 17th Century. Yet Ringwood’s history goes much further when looking at the origin of the town’s popular market, dating back to 1226, which is held each Wednesday throughout the year in the Market Place, selling food, drink, garden plants, clothes, gift crafts and homewares.
Where what used to be a horse and cattle market, granary and trading place for countryfolk to sell their produce, you’ll now find The Furlong – an upmarket shopping emporium, set around a sprawling, leafy courtyard with seating, cafes, a beautiful bronze sculpture of a New Forest pony and her foal, and shops. The open space also hosts The Hampshire Farmers’ Market on the last Saturday of the month for home-made delicacies, artisan dishes, vegetarian foods, and stalls laden with local produce. It’s easy to spend an afternoon here browsing through Waterstones books and looking through rails of clothes shops such as Crew, Oasis, Phase Eight, Fat Face, Osprey and many more. There’s also a large Waitrose supermarket and just around the corner a Sainsburys to stock up on supplies.
The narrow high street is lined with a wide selection of independent and high street shops and dotted with coffee shops, cafes, pubs and restaurants. The street widens into the Market Place, which is also the meeting point for many of the town’s events. Stroll along to West Street to an ancient three-arched stone bridge which hovers above the famous chalk fishing River Avon, as it flows through the town on its way to Christchurch Harbour. Continue walking a little further and pop into Jubilee Gardens for a picnic among flowers and lush green lawns that run either side the mill stream. Other parks include The Mount for far-reaching views across the New Forest and surrounding countryside. Carvers Recreation Ground has a cricket pitch, bowling green, play area and a great Skate Park for the youngsters.
If you like walking, you can jump on to the Avon Valley Path at Ringwood. The path totals 34 miles from the cathedral city of Salisbury (17 miles north) to Christchurch (9 miles south). There are five distinct sections of the walk, each with highlights which include water meadows, birds, and wildlife such as kingfishers and otters playing in the river. Each walk promises wonderful views and plenty of good eating pubs along the way. Another popular walk is The Castleman Trailway, which is good for cyclists as well as walkers. The walk follows the disused railway track which ran between Ringwood and Poole and passes Moors Valley Country Park. Stop here for Go-Ape, family adventure trails, rides on a rather magnificent Moors Valley narrow gauge steam train, play areas for little ones and tree-top walkways – it’s a full day out in its own right.
Food lovers are spoilt for choice in Ringwood with the sheer number of cafes, tea houses, pubs, and restaurants, from traditional British fare through Indian, Thai, and Chinese cuisines. The town’s pubs are popular with locals and residents from the surrounding villages who come for a friendly pint and to support weekly bands and musicians. Ringwood was well-known for its brewing in the 1700s, with numerous breweries taking advantage of the crystal clear chalk water of the River Avon. Nowadays there’s only one brewery left in town, that being the well-known Ringwood Brewery – producers of favourite tipples such as Forty Niner, Old Thumper and Razorback. Visitors can book a tour of the brewery – which lasts about an hour and a half, with tastings along the way. It’s a popular working attraction which wins plenty of great reviews on Trip Advisor.
The residents of Ringwood put on a fantastic year-round calendar of events. From art fairs to sports events and beer festivals to quirky races like the Pedal Car Grand Prix! The Ringwood Carnival in September draws crowds for a weekend of entertainment. At Christmas, the town is lit by thousands of twinkly lights in readiness for crowds to gather on Christmas Eve to sing carols around the Christmas Tree accompanied by the Town Brass Band – it’s truly magical.
New Forest Cottages have more than 140 cottage in the New Forest National Park. Click here to see our full portfolio.