Day trip by train - Hiking in the New Forest, Hampshire!

Come along on Saturday 8th August for a day trip hiking in the New Forest! **About the day** The New Forest is an area of Hampshire, southern England which includes one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in southern England. It covers about 219 square miles. The New Forest was created as a royal forest by William I in about 1079 for the royal hunt, mainly of deer. Today, 90% of the forest is still owned by the crown. The forest is fantastic for spotting wildlife and also farm animals as the local people of the area have pre-existing rights of common: *'to turn horses and cattle out into the Forest to graze'*. They do this during the summer months, so we will hopefully see horses, ponies, donkeys, cattle and maybe some sheep whilst walking. The village where we will be starting and finishing the walk; Brockenhurst is right in the heart of the New Forest and as animals have right of way in the forest, its not uncommon to see ponies and cattle walking around the village. **The Walk** We will walk about 6-7 miles. The area is fairly flat and we will be walking on heath and forest land, so walking boots or sensible shoes are advised. **Food & Drink** Please bring food and drink for the day, as there isn't anywhere on the route to buy anything. **Aprox Itinerary** 9:30am - meet at the station 10:05am - catch train (please purchase your own tickets in advance - a return to Brockenhurst) 11:37am - arrive at the village of Brockenhurst in the New Forest and have a toilet stop 12:00noon - start walk (it's a circular walk that finishes back at the station) 1:30pm - stop for lunch in the New Forest 2:00pm - continue walk 4:30pm - arrive back at Brockenhurst 4:30pm - freetime, you can either head back to London, look around the village or head to the 'Snakecatcher pub', which has a large outside area **Return Trains to London** Trains going back to London: 4:14pm, 4:44pm and at the same times past each hour, it takes 1h 30mins. **Payment** Full Members of the group will be free, everyone else, the walk will be £7 per person (payable on the day by cash or credit card). **Become a Full Member** To become a Full Member (£14 a year), either: \- Pay cash at an event \- Pay via Bank Transfer \(TSB Bank plc\, Sort code: 77\-66\-65\, Account no: 00030809\, Account name: Cultureseekers\) \- Pay via credit card on the day or in advance \([https://pay.sumup.com/b2c/QLAX8AUI](https://pay.sumup.com/b2c/QLAX8AUI)) \- go to PayPal \- [https://www.paypal.com/uk/](https://www.paypal.com/uk/), then click on 'Pay & Get Paid‘, then click on 'Send Money’, put in the email address: [general@cultureseekers.org](mailto:general@cultureseekers.org) in the 'Send Money' box, then 'Next' and then enter the amount to pay. Click 'Next', then 'Goods & Services', then 'For Friends & Family', then 'Continue' Benefits of becoming a Full Member [here...](https://www.meetup.com/london_cultureseekers/photos/22974682/531979527/) **Train Tickets** The cheapest train tickets are two singles, which work out at about £31 each. The destination station is Brockenhurst. You can purchase your train ticket at: [www.thetrainline.com ](www.thetrainline.com) Look out for the red & blue 'London Cultureseekers' group sign/flag. If you can't see us, please text. Look forward to seeing you there! Robert 07905 901 834 (prefer text) or email: [general@cultureseekers.org](http://general@cultureseekers.org) ***On the day, if you can’t make the visit, just change your RSVP to No or text me to say you can’t make it.*** ***Please don’t post any messages in the comments that you can’t make it, as this generates spam for everyone else.*** *Please make sure you are aware of the group rules here before RSVPing -* ***[https://www.meetup.com/london_cultureseekers/photos/22974682/523578875/Group_Rules/](https://www.meetup.com/london_cultureseekers/photos/22974682/523578875/Group_Rules/)***