New Forest Lodge

The lodge sits deep in Wiltshire countryside, a substantial Victorian structure that's equal parts hunting lodge and minor estate. It's the sort of place that makes you wonder what stories the walls could tell - and there are plenty, given its age and the landscape around it.

You can't actually go inside (it's private), but the exterior is worth a look if you're passing through the area between Salisbury and the deeper New Forest reaches. The building itself is handsome enough - red brick, properly proportioned, with the kind of presence that suggests serious money when it was built. The setting matters more than the building, though. This is proper country, the kind where you genuinely feel removed from things.

Walkers will appreciate the location more than most. There's countryside immediately around it, and if you're rambling through Wiltshire heading south, you'll likely cross paths with it. History buffs might find the period architecture interesting, but don't expect interpretation boards or visitor facilities. It's a landmark in the truest sense - something to note on the map rather than spend an afternoon at.

If you're based at Green Hill Farm Holiday Village just up the road, or Longbeech Campsite four miles off, New Forest Lodge makes a decent waypoint on a longer walk. It's the sort of thing you tick off while doing something else, rather than plan a trip around. Worth knowing it's there, less worth planning a special journey.