No visit to Forge Place would be complete without a trip to Christchurch. This beautiful tourist resort is always a popular destination for our guests. Founded in the seventh century, the historic small town sits at the confluence of Avon and Stour Rivers between Bournemouth to the west and the New Forest to the East.

The town’s two rivers flow into Christchurch Harbour. The harbour is a large salt marsh protected by a sandbar known as Mudeford Spit, which has a fine sandy beach on both sides of a walkway lined with beach huts. At the start of the sandbanks, the harbour is protected by Hengistbury Head. This natural headland provides a haven for the sand martins that nest in the sandy cliffs every year.

Christchurch's stunning coast and beautiful countryside extends from Hurn in the west to Highcliffe in the east and includes Christchurch town centre, Highcliffe, Mudeford, Hurn and Burton.

The town centre, with its picturesque Priory Quarter, riverside walks and quay offers a lovely way to spend the day. There are interesting specialist shops to browse and quaint tearooms where you can enjoy a traditional Dorset cream tea.

The New Forest
The New Forest encompasses 140,000 acres and is the largest remaining tract of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in south-east England. The New Forest is a lively, working landscape with many secrets to discover. The only way to reveal The New Forest's hidden gems and truly appreciate the sights, sounds and smells of the forest is to get out there and explore. Try to escape from the confines of the car and head out on foot, bike or horseback to get a really intimate understanding of the forest, its coast and villages.

The New Forest is a walker's paradise with many circular and linear routes. All year round, there are guided walks where local experts will tell you about the history, geology, wildlife and folklore beneath your feet. You can even explore the forest on a ranger-led New Forest event. The New Forest is a fantastic place for cycling, with miles and miles of traffic-free tracks leading you right into the heart of the forest with few hills to worry about so come and discover the New Forest for yourself.

Lymington
The beautiful, Georgian market town of Lymington lies on the southern edge of the New Forest, between Southampton and Bournemouth and at the western end of the River Solent.

The town is most famous as a sailing resort. There are two large marinas Berthon and Haven and two sailing clubs RLYC and Lymington Town. Close to the sailing clubs is an open-air seawater bath that was built in 1833. Lymington has a number of interesting independent shops including exclusive boutiques. On Saturday a market is held in the High Street, the origins of which date back to the 13th century. A cobblestone road leads from the bottom of the High Street down to the Old Town Quay, which is still used as a base by commercial fishing boats. In the past, Lymington Quay was a busy commercial port exporting great quantities of salt to Newfoundland, importing coal for the salt industry, rum from the West Indies and timber from Norway for shipbuilding.

The Jurassic Coast
The Dorset and East Devon Coast World Heritage Site is England's first natural World Heritage Site - it is known as The Jurassic Coast. It covers 95 miles of truly stunning coastline from East Devon to Dorset, with rocks recording 185 million years of the Earth's history.

World Heritage status was achieved because of the site's unique insight into the Earth Sciences as it depicts a geological walk through time spanning the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.

World Heritage Sites are places of outstanding universal value selected by Unesco, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.