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Foxbury
A blooming landscape of heathland restoration, open for special events which help people connect to nature
Access via Half Moon car park, Blackhill Road, East Wellow, Romsey, Hampshire, SO51 6AQ
Important notice
Foxbury remains closed, normally it is only open for special events.
Car park
Toilet
Compost toilet located at basecamp
Dogs
Dogs on leads usually welcome, but please check specific event information for any exceptions
All-access compost toilet available. Gravel tracks throughout, suitable for buggies and motorised wheelchairs.
Accessible toilet
Compost toilet located at basecamp
Steps/uneven terrain
Gravel tracks throughout, suitable for motorised wheelchairs
Seating available
Outdoor seating at basecamp and some log seating on track sides
By road
Seven miles north of Lyndhurst, access from the A337. Seven miles north-west from M27/A31 junction, taking the A36. 15 miles south-east of Salisbury, taking the A36. 13 miles east of Fordingbridge via the B3078.
Sat Nav: Input postcode SO51 6AQ and look out for our National Trust car park just off Blackhill Road, with a sign for "Half Moon Common".
By bus
Use bus numbers X7 from Southampton/Salisbury | 5 or 634 from Romsey/Eastleigh | 662 from Romsey/Ower The closest bus stop is East Wellow Whinwhistle Corner. From there, head west along the A36 towards Wellow and turn off left over the cattle grid into the New Forest on Blackhill Road. Continue along Blackhill Road for 1km, the entrance to Foxbury will be on your left through Half Moon car park.
Access via Half Moon car park, Blackhill Road, East Wellow, Romsey, Hampshire, SO51 6AQ
Planning your visit
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Education and learning in Foxbury
Students and children can get involved in unique education and learning projects at Foxbury, plus visit the base camp, build a den, go bug hunting and use a compost loo.
Highlights
Heathland restoration
After years as a commercial conifer plantation, Foxbury is being restored to its natural state of lowland heathland, reconnecting it with the rest of the New Forest.
Wildlife
Management work, tree planting and commoning animals have encouraged heathland wildlife including nightjars, Dartford warblers, and a diverse array of reptiles and insects.
Events
Foxbury is open for special events only, helping people connect to nature. Visitors can explore the site from a ‘basecamp’ via a network of gravel paths.
Things to see and do
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Things to see and do at Foxbury
Explore the trails and meet the wildlife at Harting Down, a slice of countryside with soaring views and woods.
About Foxbury
Open for special events only, Foxbury is our groundbreaking heathland restoration project: a 150 hectare site of dry and wet heathland, ponds and woodland, already colonised by many rare heathland wildlife specialists.
Acquired in 2005 through Grantscape funding, the site is gradually being restored to its natural state of lowland heathland and native broad-leafed woodland habitats, after years as a commercial conifer plantation.
It's coloured by yellow flowering gorse, purple heathers, flourishing orchids and foxgloves, blossoming trees in their infancy, and braided with miles of gravel trackways. Belted Galloway cattle and New Forest ponies lazily graze underneath newly exposed English oaks. On warm summer evenings the ‘churrs’ of many secretive nightjars combine to create a captivating soundscape. While silhouettes of bats dart overhead, deer melt into the cover of woodland and the green cosmic light of glow worms pepper the tracksides.
The site is also part of a Heritage Lottery Fund project called ‘Our Past, Our Future’, which is funding tree planting and helping to build new infrastructure within Foxbury that facilitates educational and recreational activities. Special events range from 'wild' play days to ranger-led bird walks, all with the aim of helping visitors get closer to nature.
Our work
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Our work at the Foxbury restoration project
Foxbury’s restoration project aims to bring the area back to lowland heathland, plant native trees, and reconnect it with the rest of the New Forest.