Fill up your senses with a trip to New Forest

IT’S hard to believe at Southampton Airport’s railway station that, less than half an hour away, you can step off the train at a picture-postcard village where wild ponies roam free and deer sneak into the immaculately tended gardens.

Welcome to the New Forest, a country escape in the south of England packed with great places to eat and drink, plus myriad things to see and do.

My base for this weekend visit to the New Forest is the Balmer Lawn Hotel & Spa (balmerlawnhotel.com)

It is the perfect example of what the New Forest offers visitors, a grand retreat set in its own grounds awash with period features.

The staff are spot on, too, everywhere from the bar to the restaurant and the acclaimed spa.

I woke the first morning here to find those wild ponies peering towards my window.

I spent my first day in and around picturesque Beaulieu.

You can drive around the New Forest, but I chose to get right in among the flora and fauna with New Forest Activities (newforestactivities.co.uk)

I set off on my hired bike along the scenic banks of the Solent. I breezed through leafy forests, catching glimpses of swans and ducks splashing around the banks.

It felt like I was leaving the 21st Century behind and, indeed, I was, as my destination was Buckler’s Hard (bucklershard.co.uk)

This remarkable site rears out of the forest like a giant leviathan on the Solent. It’s a grand historic maritime hub, fashioned as far back as the 18th Century, and was once a shipyard where vessels for Lord Nelson’s fleet were forged and their crew drilled.

It’s easy to lose half a day here exploring the expansive site.

After lunch in their café it was back to New Forest Activities HQ en route to Beaulieu.

I swapped my bike for a canoe and set out on one of their Solent safaris.

We paddled downstream seeing the New Forest from a totally different perspective savouring the sight of kingfishers in the trees and birds of prey soaring high above.

A highlight was pulling up in a little inlet and tasting samphire plucked straight from the crystal clear waters.

On my second day I set off early for Beaulieu,the National Motor Museum (beaulieu.co.uk)

I had planned to spend half a day there. I stayed all day, it’s that good and I don’t even consider myself that big a fan of cars.

Beaulieu boasts an impressive collection that stretches to more than 250 vehicles of all shapes and sizes, from vintage buses through to world record-setting creations capable of flying along at 400mph.

Petrolheads are in heaven here with the World Of Top Gear exhibition. There’s even a once futuristic monorail to sweep you round for a bird’s eye view of a site that weaves between the historic, the cutting edge and the future.

On my last morning it is back on to two wheels, this time with one of Cyclexperience’s electric bikes.

For those keen to explore the great outdoors but lacking a bit of fitness, an electric bike is spot on.

We canter off through the forests coming across not only wild ponies, but wild pigs and sheep, too. We also ease past a host of the cosy, picturesque pubs the New Forest is famed for.

I head back on to the train already resolving to come back to this land of wild ponies.

Next time I’ll check out sites such as the legendary Paultons Park theme park, home to Peppa Pig World, with my wee daughter.

The New Forest offers so many things to see and do, whether you are seven or 70, in a world it’s hard to imagine lies so close when I stand back on the train platform at Southampton Airport.