New Forest Northern Commons

New Forest ponies drink at Dockens Water in the New Forest, Hampshire — An iconic New Forest view

Important notice -

In line with government guidance, our New Forest Northern Commons (apart from Foxbury) are open for local visitors to access for walks. We ask all visitors to follow guidance on social distancing to keep everyone safe.

A colourful mosaic of blooming heather and gorse, braided wetlands and ancient woodland pasture

Overview
Opening times
How to get here
Facilities and access
Contact us

Visitors walking through a garden in spring

Visiting this spring

Our gardens, parks, cafés, shops and countryside locations are open to visit. From 17 May, we're reopening houses in England, and subject to government confirmation, we're planning to open houses in Wales from 17 May and in Northern Ireland from 24 May. Advance booking for visits helps us keep everyone safe and socially distanced. At quieter times such as weekdays, booking shouldn't be necessary, but to guarantee entry we recommend booking in advance, especially at weekends and bank holidays. Please check the property webpage before you visit and follow government guidance.

New Forest Northern Commons

Things to see and do

Winter walks in the New Forest

In line with government guidance, our New Forest Northern Commons are open for local visitors to access for walks. We've got three very different downloadable trails for you to try, drawing you into some of the Forest's fascinating history, and magnificent ancient landscapes.

New Forest Northern Commons

Our work

Panoramic shot of New Forest lowland heath in winter frost with scots pine

Protecting rare New Forest lowland heaths

Our very rare, but wildlife-rich New Forest heaths are not a natural phenomenon. In fact, if we didn’t manage them they’d soon become woodland. Find out how we protect this ancient and wild landscape in winter.

A ranger carrying out vital conservation work in the New Forest, Hampshire

See what we've been getting up to

Our rangers in south west Hampshire look after over 5,000 acres of countryside across the New Forest, Mottisfont estate, Stockbridge Down and Curbridge Nature Reserve. Take a look at our latest newsletter to see how we’ve been caring for these special places, and find out more about the work we do throughout the year that maintains this land for everyone to enjoy.

Volunteers planting trees at Foxbury, New Forest, Hampshire

We've planted thousands of trees

We've planted 26 hectares - that’s 18,000 trees - of native broad-leafed woodland in Foxbury, in the heart of the New Forest. This is our biggest heathland restoration project in England, and the trees will support thousands of wildlife species.

Horses grazing on the heathland in the New Forest

Why we cut down some trees in the New Forest

The cutting of trees by the team at this time of the year can appear very destructive, but these extremely important management practices are undertaken to protect the rare heathland for years to come.

New Forest Northern Commons