Within seconds of stepping off the train at Brockenhurst station you are strolling down village roads. In minutes you can be home. All feels calm and quiet.
That is a rather special and privileged experience: being delivered direct from the hustle of a lively city (such as London or Southampton) into the tranquil heart of the New Forest National Park. This picturesque village, surrounded by heathland and woodland, is surprisingly well connected. Trains to and from Southampton Central take only 15 minutes (or less), and about an hour and a half into London Waterloo.
This makes Brockenhurst a very desirable destination for those who hanker after a rural escape, but need accessibility to cities and airports. Even the road network (the M27) is within reach, as Hampshire Life covered . Brockenhurst is delightful – a village straight out of a children’s storybook.
The old-fashioned high street includes baker, butcher, chippy, greengrocer, hardware store and tearoom. Cars and cyclists navigate the Watersplash, a ford at one end of Brookley Road (aka the high street), while ponies and donkeys graze on the commons and even wander unconcerned among the shoppers. There is a sense of community.
The local village primary school, appreciated by parents for its family atmosphere, is ‘good’ according to Ofsted, while Brockenhurst College (sixth form and higher education ) is judged ‘outstanding’. Priestlands at nearby Lymington provides secondary level education and is consistent.
