Family Walks

With vast areas of woodland and heath, The New Forest offers lots of walking opportunities perfect for families. We have miles and miles of footpaths and trails that take you away from traffic and into our gorgeous landscape. Whether you fancy walking along the seafront or through our luscious woodland, there is plenty to explore here by foot.

On this page we list four of our most family-friendly walks that are on offer in the New Forest. The walks start from just two miles and take in some of the most scenic parts of the New Forest including the villages of Beaulieu and Burley and the shingle spit leading to Hurst Castle.

Family walks that we suggest include:
 

Beaulieu to Buckler’s Hard

This is a two mile walk which you can start from the National Motor Museum Beaulieu, or, if you aren’t visiting the museum, starting from the car park in Beaulieu village.

This is a very level walk and the majority of it is traffic-free.

Take the footpath from the village and follow along the path of the Beaulieu River as it meanders its way southeast to Buckler’s Hard. Along the way you will pass through woodland, beside the tidal river-edge grassland and by the salt marsh before ending up in the pretty village of Buckler’s Hard.

If you enjoy nature spotting then this is a great walk. See if you are lucky enough to spot a kingfisher darting by in a flash of turquoise and listen out to the sound of woodland birds along the way.

Once you reach Buckler’s Hard there are a couple of places you can stop for a bite to eat or a quick snack. You can also visit the Maritime Museum or take a cruise along the Beaulieu River (please note charges apply for entry to the museum and river cruise).

Milford Food Trail

What better way than to combine walking than with some great foodie stopping off points! The Milford Food Trail makes for a great short walk from this village, along the coastline and enjoying the various eating establishments along the way.

This walk has two options; a shorter 2.6 mile route or the longer 3.3 mile one.

Both routes start at the Village News in Milford-on-Sea and pass a variety of cafes, pubs and restaurants along the way. Follow the route to the Sea Road and then onto the shingly Hurst Spit as it curves around leading you to Hurst Castle. Learn about the rich history of the castle from Tudor times through to WW2 on a visit (admission charges apply) or simply take in the views across the nature reserve and Solent. From the castle you can either opt to return to Keyhaven via the ferry (and opt for the shorter walking route) or walk back along the spit to Cut Bridge where you will pass over onto Seagrass Lane and the path leading you to Keyhaven and then returning back to Milford-on-Sea.

There are some interesting things for children to try and spot along the way including two lighthouses, the quirky looking Zwartble sheep and wetland birds such as oystercatchers.

Beaulieu Food Trail

This family-friendly walking route is similar to the Beaulieu to Buckler’s Hard route although has more of an emphasis of the food and drink along the way.

The walk starts from New Forest Activities and passes by the Beaulieu Chocolate Shop, Steff’s Kitchen and the Captain’s Café at Buckler’s Hard (to name just a few places). Look out for kayakers on the river, a very tall red brick chimney and five launch ways along the way or take part in some of the activities on offer at the New Forest Activities at the start or end of your route.

As with the Beaulieu to Buckler’s Hard route, this walk also takes in the maritime village of Buckler’s Hard. Here you will also find the Maritime Museum, a hotel, café and river cruises.

Burley Food Trail

Continuing the food theme, the Burley Food Trail is a circular walk or either 3.3 or 5 miles.

This walking trail is more suitable for families with older children as there are some stiles to cross and gates to negotiate your way through along the way. There are however lots of things to spot along the way including six large cider barrels, a flying witch on a broomstick and a ‘cob’ cottage made of earth. Download the route and see how many of these things you can spot!

Food stops can include the popular Burley Fudge Shop, Karen’s Cornets as well as a variety of cafes, pubs and restaurants. There is also ample opportunity to visit the gift shops and shops filled with witches memorabilia in the village - Burley has a long history of witchcraft!

The extended 5 mile route continues onto The Old Station Tearooms, an old railway station along a disused railway line.

Fancy doing your own walks with the family
 

During the summer months you can also hop on and hop off the New Forest Tour bus. This is a great way to  link together your walking routes to really get around and see more of the area - and more importantly give any little legs a rest!

We’d recommend you pick up a local Ordnance Survey map for the New Forest and/or suggested walking routes guides from one of our local visitor information points or the New Forest Centre in Lyndhurst. 

Keep an eye out for family-friendly guided walks in The New Forest as well. Our what’s on pages will detail any events like this that we know of. Locations such as Blashford Lakes nature reserve, Lepe Country Park and Moors Valley Country Park often run family-friendly guided walks in the school holidays where you can do a bit of nature spotting along the way.

It’s also worth taking a look at our accessible walks, as many of these are suitable for pushchairs or for little legs that aren’t able to walk quite as far!

The New Forest National Park is a wonderful place to visit and you can help it stay that way by being a Forest friendly visitor.

Your food and litter could harm the ponies and donkeys. Please take your litter home if bins are full.

To help ground-nesting birds rear their young safely, keep yourself, dogs and horses on the main tracks from the beginning of March to the end of July.