1 week Ago By [email protected] (Laura Nightingale)
Located on the edge of a national park is a little village called Ashurst. A picturesque gateway into the New Forest, the peaceful neighbourhood is surrounded by wetlands, woodlands and walks, and offers a lovely day out for families. The Hampshire beauty spot is located on the South East Coast near Southampton, yet it's just a 50-minute drive from the Surrey border, meaning it's possible to visit and be home for dinner.
Mainly consisting of residential properties and holiday lodges, the quaint forest village is a must-visit for animal fans. The New Forest Wildlife Park and Longdown Activity Farm are both on the doorstep, not to mention hundreds of wild ponies grazing along the heathland and at the side of the roads. And with Ashurst train station on the Waterloo to Weymouth line, it's an easy place to get to too.
This spring, the wildlife park welcomed its newest resident - a cute wolverine called Bodie. For several months, the family-run wildlife park team has been thoughtfully designing and constructing a habitat that mirrors Bodie’s natural environment. The enriching enclosure has been designated to stimulate and indulge his natural curiosity.
As a young male (born in early 2022), Bodie joins the New Forest Wildlife Park from Whipsnade Zoo in time for the school Easter holidays. He is a very active wolverine, fond of climbing and reaching high vantage points. Lizzy McNamara, senior keeper at the wildlife park, said: "Wolverines are plain and simply an incredible species that people just don’t realise exist.
"They are an immensely fierce and impressive mustelid that would have lived here among us in the UK. Our aim is to support native and European species through different forms of conservation and education efforts. We are very excited to be welcoming Bodie as the only wolverine in Hampshire.
"We hope everyone will join us in awe of Bodie and come to learn how important wolverines are in the balance of our ecosystem." Up the road is Longdown Activity Farm, also offering a fantastic day out for families. It is home to cows, ponies, donkeys, alpacas, pigs, goats, chickens and ducks, plus there is a daily schedule of activities such as kid, goat and calf bottle-feeding, duck feeding, and meeting small and friendly farm animals in the Animal Encounter Barn.
The New Forest is a stunning place to pull over and enjoy a picnic surrounded by heathland and woodland. But if you're after hot food or a cold beer, the national park is full of cosy country pubs. In Ashurst, The Forest Inn serves a range of pub classics including fish and chips, scampi and chips, beef chilli con carne, gammon and egg, burgers, steak, pies and curry, daily from 5pm to 9pm.
There's also a lunch menu available daily from 12pm to 3pm offering crusty baguettes filled with a choice of fillings for £4.95, and traditional roasts served on Sundays. Ashurst is situated east of Lyndhurst and in the middle of Bartley and Beaulieu.
According to property website Rightmove, house prices in Ashurst have an overall average of £473,306 over the last year - cheaper than the average house price in Surrey of £615,828. The majority of these homes in Ashurst were detached properties, selling for an average price of £578,994. Semi-detached properties sold for an average of £398,062, with terraced properties fetching £260,430.
Places to visit in Ashurst New Forest Wildlife Park: Deerleap Lane, Ashurst, Southampton, SO40 4UH. Longdown Activity Farm: Deerleap Lane, Ashurst, Southampton, SO40 7EH. The Forest Inn Ashurst: Lyndhurst Road, Ashurst, Southampton, SO40 7DU.
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