New Milton is a little town with just 25.000 people living there. It is located right outside of the New Forest national park region in the south of England. It is more a place for people wanting to visit quiet places and nature.
Where is it located?
New Milton is located around 30 km from Southampton in the south of England in the UK. When you are taking a train from London, you need around 1,5h’s, with around five stops along the way.
It isn’t big, but it is located on the coast and surrounded by a lot of nature.
What can you do while visiting near the ocean?
I would start off with, that a day trip is probably enough, unless you have time, because with more time, you can of course see more.
You are able to go to Barton Common, which is great for walking around, and you will also be able to find wild horses there. This is located right next to a golf course. You can walk along there and end up getting closer to the sea and standing on top of the cliff.
From there you have two options, walking along the cliff for a while, or walking down the cliff somehow and arriving at the sea.
At the sea, you are able to see in the distance the three needles right off the shore of the Isle of Wight, which could be another idea of a trip, I personally haven’t done that.
You can go relax at the sea, with not that many visitors, at least at the end of may. The town in general got almost no international tourists, that is also a reason why it gets its own article.
A little trip to the Hurst Castle, a bit outside of New Milton could be a good idea, it’s less than 10 km’s and on the way there, you could get some fish & chips as well! When cycling, or walking, you can do that along the cliff, which can be a great experience.
What can you do when you are more interested in nature?
When not being by car, renting a bike would make a lot of sense, to really be able to go places. Sadly in New Milton itself there is no bike rental for that, get out at Brockenhurst. Brockenhurst is one train station before New Milton, when coming from London.
You could cycle to the Hincheslea Moor Inclosure, this region is beautiful! more than 100 wild horses are enjoying life on the big meadow. Besides that, you can walk around in the forest nearby. There is a nice three to five km loop inside the forest, which you can of course extend.
After leaving the borders of New Milton, you are already in the New Forest national park, in which you can explore for a long time. I also saw many people camping inside the forest, which probably would be a great thing to do. There are some official campgrounds, or you could try the wild camping style which is not allowed though!
What is perfect for a day there?
I would suggest, when you like to cycle, or drive into nature, when being with a car here, drive up into the New Forest national park. Over there you got many different options of what to do. Of course the more you are driving, the more you’re gonna see. From natural places, to also some castles like the Highcliffe Castle, which is more for, when returning from the forest.
You can take snacks with you and relax on the meadow surrounded by horses and enjoy the hopefully good weather.
After being there for let’s say the half day, you can go see the other great option. You can go to the coast and take a swim to relax after on the beach. It is a good way to finish the day. When that was all done, there would be even two bars in the town of New Milton and even a supermarket, which is open until midnight, which was quite surprising for me.
You can of course spend more time, but for just a day in nature, when you don’t have time, that should be more than durable.
How was it for me?
I came to New Milton just to visit a friend, who is living in Hamburg as well, but was visiting her parents. I had no clue of what to expect.
It is a place where you can for sure relax and get away from the busy life in the cities. Also due to not many tourists, it is perfect, because it is definitely a nice place to be at.
I was cycling five days around this region and was able to see something new every day, which is fantastic. Getting out of the city is always something I enjoy and maybe it can be also something for you, when you are in this region, then why not give it a try!
