Like Winnie the Pooh, I’ve always felt being in the woods was good for mind, body and soul. Thanks to a guided walk in the New Forest, I now know that science corroborates this sentiment. It’s all in the spores, apparently, which confer a range of benefits, including helping our immune system to function better. No wonder Winnie never appeared to suffer from any colds…
This nature-based nugget was just one of a multitude my family and I learnt in the course of the walk, which we went on thanks to a partnership between The Montagu Arms in Beaulieu and conservationists Wild New Forest: the appropriately named Wild New Forest package. Here’s what we thought of our two-day arboreal sojourn…
The setting
Having only just left the industrial Southampton Docks behind, it felt improbable to be entering sprawling ancient woodland within a matter of minutes. Yet entering it we were, and the road we took to do so bisected a mammoth tract of heathland where gorse and horse cohabit in one of nature’s perfect symbioses. At the risk of sounding a bit hippy, it really did feel like we were entering another world.
Five minutes later, we wended our way into Beaulieu, a village of almost indecent quaintness and home to The Montagu Arms, our hotel for the next couple of days.
Living in an Edwardian era house, I’m a sucker for bricks and mortar which have been around the block a bit, and with some parts of The Montagu Arms dating back over 300 years, I was immediately thrilled.
This pleasure was heightened when we were shown to our quarters by the delightful lady on reception. The Hawthorn suite may be as modern as it gets, but it is full of design touches paying homage to the building’s heritage.
As a journalist, my particular highlight was a gorgeous wooden writing desk, positioned in such a fashion to allow its occupant to stare out of the window while pretending to be busy bashing out a literary masterpiece. The showstoppers, though, are the bathroom and bath within, both so large I felt a pang of regret I hadn’t brought my swimming trunks.
On a practical level, despite a few sharp edges here and there spelling trouble for those of toddling age, the Hawthorn’s substantial proportions make it absolutely perfect for a family stay.
As too do the thoughtful welcoming touches which greet those who have booked the Wild New Forest package. The gingerbread ponies lasted all of 30 seconds, and the flapjack not much longer. There was also a little welcome pack of activities to occupy our oldest as we settled in.
Dining at Monty’s Inn
If you book the Wild New Forest Package, you receive a £60 per person supplement for a meal at Monty’s Inn, the hotel’s resident gastropub.
The menu boasts a solid range of options and everything we chose was well executed. With the next day’s fungi-packed activities in mind, I went for the wild mushroom soup starter while my wife had king prawns. For the main course we shared a succulent lamb shoulder for two, but it was in the dessert department that Monty’s excelled. They are all clearly homemade and it makes such a difference: the rhubarb pavlova fizzed with flavour and texture while the chocolate cookie with salted caramel ice cream was as oozy and unctuous as it sounds.
Given we were on a family holiday, it’s worth mentioning the kids’ menu, too, which was as practical and perfunctory as kids’ menus are apt to be.
A wild breakfast
After a comfortable night’s sleep in the Hawthorn’s monstrously large double bed, we headed to a breakfast with a difference. One point of difference was the time – 9am – and the hotel may want to rethink this as attempting to still the ravening hunger of a seven-year-old until such a relatively ate hour isn’t the easiest of tasks. That aside, the official point of difference was the mid-breakfast New Forest masterclass we received from Wild New Forest’s Marcus, a man who makes Ray Mears look like an amateur when it comes to woodland knowledge. Ably abetted by his precociously clued up 14-year-old son, Jamie, as we feasted on the ample continental spread provided, Marcus regaled us with an array of facts about the forest and its denizens – both animal and plant.
There was a lot to get through as the New Forest is the most wildlife-rich area in western Europe, including boasting six varieties of snake, a fact which, when relayed, made the mouthful of pain au chocolat I was savouring disappear down the hatch with more of a gulp than planned.
Moving from snakes to birds and the New Forest is the sort of place to get twitchers twitching particularly vigorously. Among the species present are hawfinch, goshawks and, biggest of the bunch, white-tailed eagles whose wingspans could easily be mistaken for those of a small plane.
Other animals rambling the woods include deer, pigs and of course, the famous ponies. In another of nature’s perfect symbioses, the acorns on the forest’s floor are poisonous to ponies but like dust to Dysons to the pigs who hoover them up with merry abandon.
As per my wild mushroom soup spoiler alert, though, the stars of this all-natural show are the fungi. We learnt there are 2,700 different types in the New Forest, all with the most delightful names, including yellow brain or witches’ butter, parrot waxcap and devil’s fingers.
Into the woods
Apologies to all those for whom this subhead raises the ghastly spectre of a crooning James Corden, but after breakfast it was into the woods we went for a guided a walk with Marcus and Jamie.
While some areas of the forest are semi-natural, the location for our ramble, Culverley, is jam-packed with ancient and unmanaged trees.
In this most evocative and peaceful of settings, our arboreal education continued. Did you know, for example, that the word ‘forest’ is derived from a French word meaning mixed terrain? So our modern application to wooded areas is, historically at least, inaccurate. Or did you know that New Forest ponies with a moustache have grown one not in tribute to Tom Selleck but because it protects their mouths when they gorge on gorse, which we were reliably assured is a tough substance to ingest.
Beyond being educational, though, the ramble was a true tonic – antidotal to our modern addiction to digital devices which sever us from our immediate surroundings. At one point, emerging into a heath, I was struck by the thought that I was looking at a landscape almost identical to the one 3.000 years worth of humans would have perceived from a similar spot. It was genuinely quite moving.
The Wild New Forest extends to a two-night stay so the following day we went on a riverside walk to Buckler’s Hard marine – easily accessed from Beaulieu and suitable for young children – before returning to the village for a final New Forest ice cream. A word from the wise: buy one from the village store and opt for a combination of oriental ginger and blackberry clotted cream – you won’t regret it…
Nor will you regret taking your family on the Wild New Forest break. It is available to book now and is priced from £538 per room (inclusive of breakfast, dinner, and guided experience with Wild New Forest).
FYI, our travel journalism is written and edited by our expert writers to inspire readers. Hotel reviews have been independently reviewed by our expert writers who are usually hosted on a complimentary basis, but this never affects our review process.
