NEW FOREST

With its sprawling woodlands, open heathlands and free-roaming ponies, the New Forest has bags of outdoor potential for family adventure

BEAULIEU

This little village is best known as the home of the National Motor Museum, where youngsters can gawp at everything from F1 cars to vintage London buses, the Beaulieu site also has a Victorian country house to explore, a monorail to ride and the ruins of a medieval abbey to marvel at. beaulieu.co.uk

NEW FOREST WILDLIFE PARK

No lions or boa constrictors here. Instead, you’ll find native and pastnative wildlife such as polecats, badgers, red deer, grey wolves and bison, as well as various species of otter and owl. Conservation is taken seriously, and the park also helps rehabilitate injured and orphaned animals. newforestwildlifepark.co.uk thenewforesttour.info

BURLEY VILLAGE OF WITCHES TREASURE TRAIL

Back in the 1950s, Sybil Leek

— later dubbed ‘Britain’s most famous witch’ — lived in the quiet New Forest village of Burley. Burley has taken this witchy legacy and run with it, now boasting a number of related shops as well as a fun ‘Village of Witches Mystery Treasure Trail’. treasuretrails.co.uk

BOLDERWOOD ARBORETUM

The region offers loads of opportunities for entertaining family walks and bike rides — keep an eye out for the New Forest Walking & Cycling Festival each autumn. One of the best options has to be the 7.5mile cycle trail through Bolderwood Arboretum, where you can combine wildlife-spotting with a relatively easy pedal through attractive native woodland, and bike hire from nearby Burley. forestryengland.uk/ bolderwood forestleisurecycling.co.uk newforestnpa.gov.uk