Accessibility

The New Forest is a beautiful national park which boasts stunning views across rolling heathlands, dense majestic woodlands and a secret coast.

We want everyone to come and enjoy this unique and friendly place and give each person the opportunity to enjoy this beautiful and varied landscape, no matter their age, ability or accessibility needs. You can find out some super useful information regarding accessibility in the New Forest below...  

Accessible places to stay

In the New Forest there are plenty of brilliant places to stay that are suitable for those with accessibility needs. From ground-floor rooms, lifts, wet rooms and carefully adapted accommodation options for guests with autism and other similar conditions. Before booking, we advise you to check with the provider in advance to ensure the accommodation is suitable for your needs.

Accessible things to do

There's plenty of things to do and fun to be had for everyone in the New Forest. Many of our local attractions, activities and events offer facilities and adaptations for those with accessible needs.

Pedall are a fantastic local charity who offer guided bike rides and support for people of all ages who have physical or intellectual disabilities, a visible or unseen condition, social or mental wellbeing needs, or living with a health diagnosis. Their diverse fleets of specialist cycles offers bikes with different seating positions, three or four wheels bikes, and straps and harnesses. 

Paultons Park is a fantastic day out, catering for everyone with their rest areas, welcoming assistance dogs, and multiple rides and attractions that wheelchair users can enjoy including the Victorian Carousel and Rio Grande Train Ride. 

Another great place to visit with accessible access and facilities is the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu, including wheelchairs and electric scooters available to hire for free on site, large print visitor information, induction loops and transcripts available for those with visual and hearing impairments, plus they also allow assistance dogs on site. 

Accessible walking routes

Explore the stunning New Forest with our wonderful accessible-friendly walking routes. We have a choice of fantastic designated paths, provided by Forestry England, that are ideal to use with wheelchairs, mobility scooters and pushchairs. 

Getting here & around

Across the New Forest you can travel by bus, by car, by coach, by train and taxi. We have detailed all of the relevant accessible companies and their contact details below.

Bus

Bus companies travel in accessible buses, which makes for very easy travel in and around the New Forest for all.

Travel with

• Bluestar (01202 338 420) Here are links to their pages regarding Accessibility, Wheelchairs and Scooters and their Helping Hand Scheme.
• Morebus (01202 338 420) Here are links to their pages regarding being Age Friendly, Wheelchairs and Scooters and the Helping Hand Scheme.

Or for further information, including live route & timetable information and advice, contact Traveline on 0871 200 2233.

Train

The main Train service in the area is operated by South Western Railway.

If you are a wheelchair user or need assistance when travelling by train you should book your rail journey at least 24 hours in advance. Please contact South Western Railway Assisted Travel on 0800 528 2100 (6am - 10pm).

Here are links to South Western Railways Pages on 

• Book Travel Assistance Services
• Accessible Rail Journey
• Wheelchairs Scooters and Ramps
• Assisted Boarding Points

Alternatively contact National Rail Enquiries on 0800 022 3720 and select option 1, or text phone (for customers who are deaf or hard of hearing) on 60083.

National Rail also has a Accessible Train Travel and Facilities page as well as an Interactive Route Map with gives detailed information regarding accessibility when you select a train station and click on the wheelchair icon. 

Taxi

Driving Miss Daisy New Forest South West offers caring and empathetic approach to assisted travel in the forest. You can contact them on 01590 467 679. It is worth noting that Driving Miss Daisy is not an on demand taxi service and must be pre booked in advance. 

There is also Driving Miss Daisy Romsey who offer the same service in the north of the forest. You can contact them on 01794 378057, or on WhatsApp via 07746 181024. Once again, all requests must be booked in advance.

Ferry

There are three Ferry companies which operate services in the New Forest and the surrounding area. Please contact the companies for information on timetables, access and fares on the following.

• Wightlink (Lymington to Yarmouth) on 0333 999 7333. Wightlink also have a Dedicated Assisted Travel Line on 0800 093 8236. Here is a link to their Accessible Travel page.
• Quay 2 Quay (Lymington to Yarmouth) on 01983 245645. Quay 2 Quay has limitations for wheelchair access, they are detailed on the sixth point down on their FAQ Page.
• Red Funnel (Southampton to Cowes) on 023 8001 9192. Here is a link to their Passenger Assistance page.

Coach

National Express coaches stop at Lyndhurst, Lymington and Ringwood. If you are a wheelchair user or need assistance when travelling by coach, National Express advise you to book your coach journey at least 24 hours in advance. Please contact National Express for information on timetables, access and fares on 0871 781 8181.

Here are links to their Accessibility and Inclusion page as well as their Assisted Travel page.

Car

Travel by Car from Southampton, London or the East: exit M27 at Junction 1, signed Cadnam & head southwards into the New Forest. Travelling from the West: use A31 from Dorset. Travelling from the North: take either A338 from Salisbury to Ringwood in the west of the Forest, or A36 to Totton in the east.

If you are traveling down the M3 it's worth noting that the accessible toilet at the Winchester Science Center & Planetarium is open 24/7 and does no require entry to the attraction.

Parking charges apply in the New Forest District Council car parks however, if you are a Blue Badge holder then you will be able to park for free. There are accessible parking spaces in each car park however, if they are not vacant you are able to park with your blue badge in another bay.

Wheelchair Hire in the New Forest

The following companies offer sales (new and old), repair and hire of manual and electric wheelchairs, scooters and equipment in the New Forest and surrounding areas:

• KJ's Mobility: 12 High Street, Hythe SO45 6AH Tel: 02380 844886

• M&J Mobility: Old Lyndhurst Road, Cadnam, SO40 2NL Tel: 023 8081 1949

We advise to contact each company to check their product meets your accessibility needs.

Accessible Toilet Facilities and Changing Places

There are a number of accessible facilities located in car parks across the New Forest. There are over 20 NFDC car parks with these facilities, including: Beaulieu, Brockenhurst, Keyhaven, Lymington, Lyndhurst, New Milton, Ringwood and Totton. For a full list of NFDC toilet facilities and their locations please click here.

There are also forest car parks with accessible facilities: Anderwood, Blackwater, Bolderwood, Whitefield Moor and Wilverley Plain. For more details on Forestry England's toilet facilities, please click here. 

Below is an interactive map detailing additional Accessible Toilers and Changing places in the New Forest and surrounding area.

• Orange pins are for Changing Places in the New Forest
• Green pins are Changing Places in Shopping Centers
• Purple Pins are Attractions with Accessibile Toilets

If we haven’t been able to answer all of your questions, please find a number of useful contacts below you could try:

• Forestry England - 0300 067 4601 / southern.enquiries@forestryengland.uk

• New Forest National Park Authority - 01590 646600 / enquiries@newforestnpa.gov.uk