Secrets of the New Forest – and where to spot its elusive wildlife
Neil Ansell knows almost every inch of the New Forest, a favourite childhood haunt. He returns to share his favourite spots
August 2020
Why UK farmers are cashing in on the boom in rural staycations
Landowners turn to camping and cottage rentals to boost income after lockdown losses
July 2020
Return of the youth hostel: a stay at the YHA New Forest
The Youth Hostels Association celebrates its 90th anniversary in the most difficult of years, but this unique social enterprise recently reopened 30 hostels
July 2018
Historic walking trails
Country diary: a boon to walkers, a threat to the wetland
Dibden Purlieu, New Forest, Hampshire: Presumably intended to make the path more welcoming, the drain has significantly changed the delicate hydrology of this hillside
October 2017
Country diary
Country diary: the woodland is intoxicating at this time of year
Bramshaw Telegraph, New Forest The heather is fading but there are so many fallen trees to explore, each with its diverse community of fungi
June 2017
Country diary
Tranquil moments where the forest meets the sea
Country diary: New Forest South Only on private land can we experience a sense of remoteness that was once commonplace here
February 2017
Country diary
Winged surprise lifts spirits on a cold morning
Country diary:Slufters Inclosure, New Forest This hardy specimen of butterfly has found an ideal basking site among still damp grasses in a bed of fern
July 2016
Take the kids to …
Take the kids to … Paultons Family Theme Park
Tripadvisor has crowned the home of Peppa Pig World as the UK’s best amusement park but it’s the mix of nature, wildlife and attractions – including its new ‘Lost Kingdom’ – that makes it such a hit
June 2016
British boltholes
The Huntsman of Brockenhurst, Hampshire: hotel review
Injecting fun and a cool vibe into a picture-book New Forest village, this revamped inn belies its pub-chain roots
September 2015
Plantwatch
Plantwatch: Mushroom madness – fungi finale?
Let's go to
Let’s go to … the New Forest
August 2015
Country diary
Insects that may come to those who wait
Country Diary: Fordingbridge, Hampshire We’ve seen no sign of painted ladies this year. Nor have we been visited by the humming-bird hawk moths we hear reports of. So we wait
July 2015
Foraging craze clears New Forest of fungi, warns mushroom expert
Country diary
A good year for a rare parasite
April 2015
Country diary
Still life – with shadowy footprints
Country Diary: Millyford Bridge, New Forest The sunlight shows up the small circular indentation made by the pond skaters’ feet in the surface of the water, and this is slightly magnified as the shadow is cast on the bed below
January 2015
Country diary
Colourful surprises among the muddy browns of winter
Country Diary: Milkham Inclosure, New Forest Midway down the muddy track, someone has laid a posy by a tree. Beside it on a rotting stump, a group of diminutive bright gorse-yellow coral fungi stand erect, as if in salutation
December 2014
Country diary
A walk with robins and rushing water
Country Diary: Highland Water, New Forest Where in this wide forest did the raindrops land that made that fleeting, tumbling flash that passed by as I blinked?
November 2014
British boltholes
Cottage Lodge, Brockenhurst, New Forest: hotel review
Country diary
A walk on the Common
October 2014
Country diary
Fungi in profusion
Country Diary: Great Stubby Hat, New Forest It is almost impossible to walk in some places without crushing them underfoot
