The Easter Bunny is gearing up and getting all those chocolate eggs prepped… it’s nearly time for the Easter holidays! This is a fun time of the year and a great opportunity to make lots of memories here in the New Forest.
Whether you are visiting for a day or are planning to stay for longer, there’s plenty of top events taking place this Easter to keep all ages entertained. Read on to find out more.
Easter crafts, trails and Easter egg hunts
Visit Lepe Country Park’s Easter Craft Fair on 1 April and peruse a range of gorgeous handmade gifts made by local crafters and artisans. Then, explore the cracking Lepe, hop and hunt Easter trail with your children between 1-16 April. Pick up your trail pack at the Visitor Centre for just £3.
Image - Lepe Country Park
Plan a trip to Hurst Castle over Easter for Egg-cellent arts and crafts, a spring trail and an Easter maze. All activities are included in castle admission fee. Plus, there’s loads of amazing history to discover here and beautiful views to soak up.
On Easter Monday (10 April), Foxlease Activity Centre will be hosting its Easter Family Fun Day. Take part in their Easter egg hunt, egg decorating and egg fling, enter the Easter-themed colouring competition, learn circus skills and play some giant games. £6 per person (4 years old and under free). This event runs between 10am-4pm (last entry 3pm). If you can’t make that date then do check out Foxlease’s Easter Holiday Club (run on various dates during the Easter holidays) too.
What better place to celebrate Easter than at Longdown Activity Farm where you will be surrounded by chicks and Easter bunnies? The popular Longdown Golden Egg Hunt is back with nineteen golden eggs to find every day, plus one very special platinum egg! There are no clues, and they are VERY hard to find. There will be a prize for those who are fortunate enough to find a golden egg, and an eggstra special prize awarded to the person who finds the platinum egg! The Great Big Golden Egg Hunt will run from Good Friday to Easter Monday.
Image - Longdown Activity Farm
Pop along to Exbury Gardens for their Egg-cellent Easter Trail (normal admission applies plus the trail costs £2.50 per child). Pick up a trail sheet from the Visitor Entrance and explore the gardens as your children try to match the different types of birds with their eggs from the clues you will find. Return your completed trail sheet to claim a chocolate Easter treat, and for a chance to win a family membership.
Over the Easter Weekend, join in with Hopping fun at Beaulieu with exciting Easter craft activities and see a larger-than-life Easter bunny hop through the grounds and gardens. Sammy Miller Motorcycle Museum also have some eggs-temely fun children’s activities taking place from 6 to 11 April!
Image - Beaulieu
If the weather isn’t playing ball then some of the indoor Easter crafting activities being run at St Barbe Museum and Art Gallery in Lymington make great activities to do.
Explore the great outdoors
Make the most of the spring weather by planning some outdoor activities, after all, you can’t get much more beautiful surroundings than the New Forest!
Join New Forest Activities this Easter for some fun filled easter-themed events. Paddle along the scenic Beaulieu river on their canoe Easter egg hunt and be on the lookout for tasty treats along the way or spend time testing your accuracy down the range at their Easter archery tournament, competing in a series of exciting Easter-themed archery games, for the biggest egg of the day.
Image - New Forest Activities
Try your hand at kayaking or paddle boarding on some of the New Forest coastline with The New Forest Paddle Sport Company. Choose from 1-hour taster sessions, 1-hour mega sup sessions (perfect for families of all ages), SUP Polo team sessions and paddle board refresher courses. They also have all of their usual experiences running including the Hurst Castle Experience and Guided Paddles of Keyhaven.
Hop along to Avon Tyrrell Outdoor Centre on Easter Sunday for two hours of egg-citing Easter adventures. For just £10 per child (parents go free) they can take part in climbing, archery and much more as well as the self-guided Easter activities around site.
Image - Avon Tyrrell Outdoor Centre
Why not try something new this Easter and rent off-road or comfort electric bikes from Cyclexperience? If you would like to see more and do more in the New Forest but would prefer not to be pedalling for hours, then these are the bikes to choose. Trying the more adventurous routes and exploring the quieter parts of the New Forest has never been easier with that power behind the pedals!
Events perfect for food and drink connoisseurs
Jaunt-e Bikes is launching its brand new and totally unique E-bike Vineyard Tour and Wine Tasting Experience this Easter, with the first two dates being Good Friday and Easter Saturday. A perfect day out for couples, families or friends. They have partnered with the New Forest’s award-winning vineyard, Setley Ridge, and put together a beautiful e-bike route along the Solent coastal paths and up through Royden Woods, arriving just in time for the vineyard tour and tasting. Availability is limited and early booking is recommended to avoid disappointment.
Image - Jaunt-e Bikes
And at the Montagu Arms in Beaulieu, you can enjoy the brand-new Feasting & Foraging break. Foodies will enjoy a two-night stay with a foraging workshop, English wine tasting, pub supper at the hotel’s own Monty’s Inn on the first night and a delicious six-course tasting menu featuring guests’ foraged produce in fine-dining restaurant, The Terrace.
Plan your Easter break
These are just some of the amazing activities and events that you can do here in the New Forest. Do check out our Easter page for lots of other ideas for days out, events and Easter-related opportunities.
Stay at Sandy Balls Holiday Village between 31 March – 16 April and get stuck into some crafts such as Easter bonnets, baskets, bunny plant pots and more (available on selected days, please check out the Sandy Balls website for details)! There will be visiting acts on selected nights meaning more fun for all the family. Plus, book before 1 April and get up to 10% off your break with code SPRUNG10!^.
Image - Sandy Balls Holiday Village
Riverside Park also has a special offer for stays during Easter week! Get 15% off on their Heron or Kingfisher accommodation for breaks starting on 7 April.
If you are planning on staying in the New Forest then we would recommend booking your place to stay soon as spaces are filling up quickly.
Wishing you a very Happy Easter! And do share your egg-cellent adventures with us on socials!