Wiltshire Tourist Guide

Bed and Breakfast near The New Forest - Wiltshire

Bed and Breakfast near the New Forest is available mostly close to or in the main population centres of Southampton, Ringwood and Salisbury.



The forest is bounded by Wiltshire in the north and by Hampshire, Dorset and the sea to the south, east and west. Towns in the Forest itself are Brockenhurst and Lyndhurst which become frightfully congested during the holiday season and the town of Fordingbridge on its western flank.

The New Forest has National Park status and development is strictly regulated so for more choice of B&B; accommodation you will need to look outside the Forest.



The New Forest was created as a royal hunting area in 1079 by William I (better known as our illustrious invader William the Conqueror) who defeated England in 1066. The AngloSaxons or maybe the Saxonised Angles, originally immigrants from Saxony or modern day Germany, would of course have defeated this impertinent foreigner had it not been for a sneak attack at the same time by the Vikings on the east coast . As the combustion engine had not been around then poor old Harold couldn’t be in two places at once. Tired out with all the marching, fighting and dashing from ‘pillar to post’ (a quaint English idiom) Harold and his worn out soldiers rushed back south to suffer a resounding defeat by the Normans. The victorious William I then went about ‘lording’ it over the (Anglo) Saxons’, parcelling out the countryside between his pals. Fortunately for today’s modern ‘tourism’ industry this also included taking over large tracts of land so he and his lords could do a spot of hunting. As a result we have such gems as the (royal) Savernake forest, a beautiful unspoilt forest in the Heart of Wiltshire near Marlborough , as well as the better known visitor honeypot The New Forest (new at the time of course) to the south of the county. Perhaps it should be known as the Old New Forest



Salisbury city is but a short drive from The New Forest and makes an excellent base from which to explore the forest. The medieval city, a living working city, together with its Cathedral is magnificent. It is also a unique opportunity to see something of Wiltshire county, a very little known ‘empty quarter’ of southern England. Wiltshire is a county of ancient landscapes, chalk downland, superb walking, cycling, thatched villages, wonderful country pubs, all of which are a great attraction to those desiring to remain sane in this mad, modern world. There are plenty of B&B; accommodation both in and outside this cathedral city.

A wide choice of Bed and Breakfast near New Forest can be located in our Wiltshire Tourist guide by clicking on the link below.

Bed and Breakfast near The New Forest