more about this place...

Downstairs.

Come in the back door to a useful boot room area. The kitchen is great. The owner is a huge ‘foodie’ and her kitchen is very well set up, with plenty of fridge space, surfaces for preparation. This is not a surprise. There are 4 chefs in the family. A warming AGA and separate hob. Just next door there is a big dining room table that will fit 10 easily. Next to it the sitting room has plenty of space for relaxing. The two sets of double doors open wide and we encourage you to open them up and let the sounds and sunlight join you for meals.

Upstairs.
Head upstairs and pass the big front door. The rooms are all along the front of the house to maximise the view. The bedroom to the right is the largest and has a good ensuite shower.
Next to it are two singles, one slightly larger than the other, then another double with an ensuite shower. The two singles share a family bathroom. It’s all bright, breezy, simple and well set up for guests.

Annexe
Just across the garden (20 metres or so) are the annexe bedrooms. They do not join together and are totally separate. The top annexe room has an ensuite bath and sitting room. The bottom one has it’s own terrace area with table, chairs, and huge doors that open wide.

The location is a place that is steeped in stories. Directly opposite is Windmill Hill, one of the highest lookout points in the National Park. Just a few metres from the gate is the Abbots Well, also known back then as ‘Alleynewel’. It was first noted (in the good year) of 1215!  It is easily missed, and on first sight it looks like a badly maintained surface drain and a manhole cover. In fact both items are wooden, and the cover lifts to reveal a small pool of clear water. This wayside fresh water spring was used by smugglers and those ‘on the old Southampton to London Road’ to refresh horses and humans alike. There are many smuggling tales and legends that fill the history books of this area. Brandy and then tea were the most common products that were passed through the forest by the resourceful locals!

There are “unnoticeable” neighbours here. The one you might see is one of the most ‘chocolate box’ houses ever built. It’s a tiny, pink and Grade II listed cottage. It was once home to herbalist and author Juliette de Bairacli Levy, who wrote The Wanderers in the New Forest. The book portrays an interesting picture of the Forest, from the plants and animals to forest gypsies and old farming practices. 

Accessibility
There is one downstairs bedroom which is in the annexe, a short walk on tidy lawn, across the garden. There is a step of 10″ to get into the house through the sitting and dining room double doors. Or an almost flat entrance in via the back door. There is a gentle ramp and no stairs needed to access the house from the parking. This is approximately 40m from the back door.