Guided walks are a great way to see the New Forest, giving you the confidence to explore our National Park with the help and knowledge of a local expert.
Our local experts, who will share interesting facts and stories about the landscape and wildlife as you progress along the route so you can learn all about the fascinating history and flora and fauna that you can find here in the New Forest.
Guided walks can make a great addition to any New Forest holiday and can take you to places you may never have discovered for yourself. They can also help you gain confidence in map reading or in simply navigating your way around the forest.
We have several companies which will provide bespoke New Forest guided walking tours for groups or individuals. Including:
Wild New Forest
Wild New Forest offer a whole host of regular guided walks (and also guided cycle tours) in the New Forest. The walks are led by their friendly and expert local guides in lots of locations dotted around the forest. See our ancient woodlands, spot our glorious free-roaming wildlife and take in our breathtaking landscapes, all while learning about the history and the wildlife of the New Forest, plus topical conservation issues and responsible recreation. Their guided walks are perfect for both beginners and experts!
Fuzzacker Guided Walks
Fuzzacker Guided Walks offers a wide range of walks in the New Forest National Park and wider afield. They can arrange for a specific walk depending on the amount of miles you’d like to cover or any particular special interests such as bird watching or history. They also organise walking weekends and short breaks, including singles holidays for keen ramblers.
New Forest Navigation
Learn how to navigate your way through the New Forest whether for a team building event or family day out with New Forest Activities in Beaulieu. This can be combined with other activities such as canoeing, bushcraft or cycling.
New Forest Photo Treks
Professional photographer Ian Badley runs New Forest Photo Treks and photographic workshops for beginners, novice and advanced photographers. You can choose from full day treks, half day options or walks of an evening at various locations in the New Forest’s heathland, woods and coastline. Learn how to use your camera and pick up some top tips on composition, technique and how to adapt your camera to landscape or macro photography.
Guided walking events in the New Forest
At certain times of the year, some of our parks and garden attractions offer guided walks where you can get a personal insight and learn more about their specific locations, flora and fauna.
At Exbury Gardens garden walks are offered for groups including the Senior Guide Tour or the Head Gardener Tour, both of which must be booked in advance. This is a fascinating way to glean more information on these beautiful gardens and the history of the family which own the estate.
Furzey Gardens, in Minstead offers monthly guided walks for visitors offering a chance to learn in an informal environment about some of the special species that can be found in the garden.
Lookout for guided nature walks at Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust’s Blashford Lakes nature reserve, near Ringwood or at Lepe Country Park, near Exbury. Moors Valley Country Park runs a variety of guided walks with rangers focussing on some of the wildlife that you can find there.
The New Forest Walking and Cycling Festival also provides ample opportunities to join in on some guided walks across the area. This Festival takes place for a fortnight in October, perfect for the autumn colours! It is a great way to see areas of the National Park that you might not be familiar with, to meet with some of the park’s rangers and to explore the area with likeminded people. Walks are also often free or discounted if you arrive by public transport.
Be a Forest-friendly visitor
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.
For their safety and your own please leave the animals alone - although owned and cared for by local people called commoners, they are unpredictable and best treated as wild. Please don’t feed or pet them; there is plenty of natural food and it’s best that they don’t come to rely on people’s attention. They may look friendly but they can bite and kick, especially ponies with foals.
