Our English Safari

For our holiday in July, we decided to stay a bit closer to home.  We still haven't seen a huge amount of the UK and have heard about all the wonderful things it has to offer, so we bought a tent and went camping.

We had heard about an area in the UK where horses, ponies and donkeys roamed free.  Me, being a skeptic, I didn't believe it was true and thought it was probably something that we should check out.  So off we went, tent on back and bikes at hand, to the New Forest.  We took the train into Brockenhurst and then set out from there on our bikes.  It was really REALLY lovely.  We had a fantastic time, and everything we had heard about ponies, horses and donkeys was true.

In fact, we set up our tent right away and then decided to go for a bit of a walk through the camp site.  Right on the camp site we bumped into several horses and ponies just strolling through peoples actual sites.

Over the three days we rode for miles, visiting small towns and exploring the countryside.  The best way to see the New Forest is definitely on bike.  The whole area is well set up for bikes and it just gives the whole adventure a different feel - at least for me, who never rides a bike.

I would highly recommend camping in the New Forest for any traveller looking to save a buck and see something different.  The sheer volume of animals just wandering about will blow you away, but it is also everything you could ask for for a quiet weekend away from home.