The New Forest is located on the south coast of England, slap bang between Southampton and Bournemouth. This National Park is one of the UK's smaller protected countrysides, but given its hustling, bustling surroundings, it seems like a vast wilderness once your inside it.

I guess the important difference to note about UK National Parks, compared with many other countries, is that people occupy everyday lives within these protected places. There are towns and villages like any other part of the UK. Perhaps more importantly, there are good pubs and restaurants littered all around the park making for perfect stopping off points during a day's hiking or biking.

Mountain biking here can be a little bit restrictive. We found ourselves biking along paths and tracks through the forest that seemed perfectly suited to two wheels, yet we were reprimanded on one occasion by a park ranger who totally trashed our proposed route for the day and pointed out some very boring looking biking trails as replacements. I'll leave you wondering which route we finally took!

Other than that skirmish with officialdom, the New Forest is great and highly recommended!