Wilverley Plain car park

Wilverley Plain car park sits on the edge of the New Forest, just outside New Milton, and it's genuinely one of the best starting points for exploring this corner of Hampshire on foot. The car park itself is nothing fancy - just a decent-sized pull-in with proper facilities - but what matters is what's on your doorstep. From here, you've got direct access to miles of open heathland and forest tracks that most visitors miss entirely because they're clustered around the busier visitor centres.

It's ideal for walkers who want to get straight into the forest without the tourist infrastructure. You can wander for anything from thirty minutes to half a day depending on your mood. The heathland has a raw, unmanicured feel to it - you'll spot ponies and the occasional deer, and in late summer the gorse and heather are genuinely striking. Families with school-age kids will find it manageable enough, though it's not a destination in itself - more a launchpad.

The beauty of basing yourself at one of the nearby campsites (Setthorns is barely a mile away, with Hoburne Bashley and Holmsley both within three miles) is that Wilverley Plain becomes your regular morning or evening walk. You're not paying for entry or battling car park queues. It's the kind of spot where locals come to clear their heads, which tells you everything. Come at dawn or dusk if you can - the light on the heather is worth getting out of bed for.