The New Forest

A few weekends back we set off to explore The New Forest with our friends, Julie and Michael and Katy and Marwan.  It's about a 2 hour drive southwest of London, making it the perfect last-minute weekend getaway.  The New Forest, created as a royal forest by William I in 1079 (for the royal hunt, mainly for deer), is now known for its great hiking and biking trails through the forest, and wild ponies - there were even Shetland ponies!  Speaking of Shetland ponies, you must watch this commercial...it's guaranteed to brighten even the darkest of days!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ekr05T9Iaio

We stayed in the charming town of Lyndhurst - it became the natural "capital" of The New Forest when William the Conqueror established his hunting grounds here, then made our way over to the coast to explore Milford-on-Sea and Lymington.  We had spectacular weather during our stay, soaking in as much sunshine as we possibly could as we hopped from pub garden to pub garden :)