Bike rides and horses in the New Forest: Hampshire

The New Forest is huge! So huge that it takes up a big chunk of the southern region of England. It would take even me, one of the fastest dogs in the world, a long time to run through it all.

Working on my pushups so I could run faster!

Even with a bicycle it would still take forever to see it all!

Me and my human’s first visit ever to the New Forest took us through the small village of Brockenhurst with a bicycle buggy and now this time we are making our to the village of Burley in Hampshire, England which lies in the western region of the New Forest National Park as well as the town of Fordingbridge in Hampshire.

It wasn’t long before I found myself back in a bicycle buggy, blazing a trail through the New Forest and encountering horses, donkeys and more! Best of all, there were pubs all across the area.

Ahoy mates!

I will show you guys some of my favorite parts of the Burley and Fordingbridge in the New Forest including some of the wildlife, trails, pubs and shops!

The main village center in Burley is home to a variety of small cafes, gift shops, ice cream parlors and more! It’s also just a stone’s throw away from some of the main trails of the New Forest and there’s also a few pubs just around the corner!

Hello from Burley Village Center
A small shop in the Burley Village

Trekking toward the village center of Burley.

A walk through some of the shops in Burley below.

In addition to the lovely scenery, pubs and wildlife, we also fell in love with the marvelous thatched-roofed houses spread across the New Forest. I really wish I could move here and live the simple life.

A gorgeous house with thatched roofing
Gorgeous cottages all around

Here’s another look at the village center of Burley.

I found the Burley and Fordingbridge area to be amazing and just like Brockenhurst, there’s plenty of free-roaming wildlife who casually walk up and down the roads.

Look at these donkeys below, copying my moves!

Learning to make friends with the ponies
Danny said me and this creature have similar shaped heads
Me and Danny posing in front of some horses
Beautiful, but have you ever noticed the strong poop smell that lingers around them? They’re worse than mine!
Some more horses behind me! They’re everywhere!
Wishing I could be free to graze around freely like the horses, but Danny says I get too excited and could run off and annoy the horses
Relaxing at a cafe in Burley

Later on in the day we rented some bicycles in nearby Fordingbridge, New Forest and enjoyed some more of the wildlife. A few cattle even came by and greeted us while we drank a pint at a nearby pub.

At Fordingbridge, we rented bicycles at the Sandy Balls resort and cycled all around! Of course we had to stop at all the pubs for a pint or some food! A few times the wildlife approached us for some of our pub grub, but by then we had already eaten it all. The food is always mine.

Me and Danny eating and enjoying a beverage at the Royal Oak pub in the New Forest, Fordingbridge area
Parking at the Royal Oak
Guess who?
Ready to cycle around the New Forest again! I felt once more like a king!
Taking the sun in
Is that a donkey I see over yonder?

One of the best parts about cycling around the New Forest is that it will work up quite a thirst! Then the question arises of where to satisfy the thirst and of course, the New Forest has tons of pubs ready to serve you!

In Burley we visited the wonderful White Buck pub which is pet friendly and has wondrous food and drink!

 

Drinking a glass of wine at the White Buck in Burley
This Fullers is not actually quite full

As a matter of fact, we stopped by quite a few pubs and cafes and some of the maps of the New Forest trails perfectly spell out some of the pubs you’ll encounter along the way.

While cycling throughout the New Forest it began to rain for a bit and we retreated to a nearby pub and had a cheeky pint.

A pint and a half, actually

What a thrill it was to experience fresh air once we went back outside despite it being sometimes tainted with horse manure scent. I could truly see myself living the quiet life on a farm near here and spending my weekends on the bicycle or meandering around the small shops.

For many of the tourists, the New Forest offers a chance to escape from the mundane city life and be transported into a world where animals still freely roam the roads. What a place!

Getting back outside to enjoy the weather
Finding some trails to prance around in
Me and Danny after a long walk throughout the forest!
Coming close to the big creatures known as horses!

Our New Forest adventure wrapped up when we returned the bicycles and walked to our car to head back home. T’was an amazing experience and I can’t wait to get back on the bicycle buggy!

But for now, click here to see my full adventure from my first New Forest bike ride.

New Forest, you’re a beaut and I hope to see you soon!

And as for you guys? Well, I hope to see photos of you all exploring the beautiful New Forest. Tell the donkeys and horses that Rocky sent you and they might just roll around on their backs like I do!

Cheers my friends!

 

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