The New Forest Tour provides a unique open-top bus experience through the New Forest National Park – west of Southampton in Southern England.
The hourly services will operate from 25 June to 11 September, 2016 with a choice of three routes: Red (the wild northwest), Green (the beautiful southeast) and Blue (the coastal southwest).
From the top deck passengers will enjoy tree-top views of the National Park, with roaming animals, wide open heaths and ancient forest. Special audio commentaries tell the stories of the people and places of the New Forest – with characters, sounds and music bringing the view to life. On the open-top Tours they get a bird’s eye view of the landscape and a better chance of spotting the beautiful animals of the New Forest – including deer and rare birds, pigs and donkeys, and of course the famous ponies.
It’s possible to hop-on and hop-off anywhere along the route and catch another bus later on – or switch between Tour routes – all on the same ticket. People can also walk or cycle part of the way and then jump back on the Tour (up to four bikes carried free). There’s a great network of cycling and walking tracks.
The New Forest Tour links to rail stations at Brockenhurst, Lymington Pier, Ashurst and New Milton, as well as the main bus connections in Lyndhurst, Brockenhurst, Lymington, New Milton, Ringwood, Fordingbridge, Ashurst and Hythe. The Tour also connects to Wightlink ferries to the Isle of Wight at Lymington Pier, services to Southampton at Hythe Ferry and the Hurst Castle Ferry at Keyhaven. It’s also easy to reach many of the Forestry Commission’s cycling and walking gravel tracks as well as hotels, campsites and B&Bs.