Location

The New Forest and its traditions go back over 900 years, when William the Conqueror set it aside as a Royal hunting ground. Over the centuries, the landscape has been preserved by the Commoners’ right of pasture, allowing some 7,000 animals to graze on the Forest. Supervised by the Agisters, cattle, pigs, ponies and donkeys roam freely across the largest remaining area of lowland heath in Europe. In the Forest’s deep wooded areas, herds of deer can be seen (if you’re lucky) at home amid the ancient oak trees.

National Park status has acknowledged the New Forest as a unique nature conservation area with many rare habitats and wildlife species: living alongside reptiles are ground-nesting birds, the UK’s largest breeding population of the rare Dartford warbler, over 2,700 different species of fungi – and much, much more!

Sway village nestles on the Southern edge of the National Park, four miles from the sea and the attractive Georgian town of Lymington. The Nurse’s Cottage, occupying a prime site in the centre of Sway just one mile from open country, is an ideal touring centre, with Southampton, Winchester, Salisbury, Bournemouth and surrounding areas easily reached.

By road, take the B3055 (Brockenhurst to New Milton road) to the outskirts of Sway village. The Nurse’s Cottage is close to local shops and other facilities.

By rail: Sway Station, two minutes walk from The Nurse’s Cottage, is on the main line from London Waterloo to Weymouth and it is often quicker to travel by rail:
South West Trains run to Winchester (40 mins), Southampton (24), Christchurch (14), Bournemouth (22) and Poole (35).
Cross Country rail services provide an hourly link to Reading, Oxford, Coventry, Birmingham and further north and may be joined at Brockenhurst, one stop from Sway.

Cycle hire may be arranged through a number of local operators, the closest being Cyclexperience in Brockenhurst www.cyclex.co.uk, offering a huge selection of cycles and traffic free trails.

Regular bus services run to outlying villages to/from Lymington Bus Station, stopping one minutes walk from The Nurse’s Cottage.

The New Forest Tour open top bus calls during Summer months at Brockenhurst Station hourly, as well as Lymington, Beaulieu, Exbury Gardens and Lyndhurst. You can hop on and off at will and catch another bus later on, all on the same daily ticket.

Internationally Air France, Aurigny, Flybe and ScotAirways are among the airlines flying to/from Southampton International Airport, which has one of the closest plane-to-train links of any European airport – just 99 steps to Southampton Parkway Station. Regular rail and coach services link London Heathrow and Gatwick Airports to The New Forest.

Wightlink ferries operate throughout the day between Lymington and Yarmouth, Isle of Wight.

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