Lyndhurst, Hampshire

infobox UK place|right
country = England
latitude= 50.87
longitude= -1.58
official_name= Lyndhurst
population= 2,973 (2001 UK census)
shire_district= New Forest
shire_county= Hampshire
region= South East England
constituency_westminster= New Forest East
post_town= Lyndhurst
postcode_district = SO43
postcode_area= SO
dial_code= 023
os_grid_reference=

Lyndhurst is the largest village within the New Forest, Hampshire, England. It is often called the "Capital of the New Forest" and is a popular tourist location with many shops, cafés, pubs and hotels. Lyndhurst is also home to [http://www.newforestmuseum.org.uk/index.html the New Forest Museum] . The nearest city is Southampton located around nine miles (14 km) to the north-east. In 2001 Lyndhurst had a population of 2,973 people [http://www.nfdc.gov.uk/media/adobe/CensusProfiles.pdf] .

Alice Liddell, also known as Alice Hargreaves, the inspiration for Alice in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, lived in and around Lyndhurst after her marriage to Reginald Hargreaves, and is buried in the graveyard of the church of St. Michael & All Angels, Lyndhurst.

The church itself is a major landmark, being built of many different colours of brick, on one of the highest points in the village. The church was built in the 1860s, and contains an important fresco by Lord Leighton and stained-glass by Charles Kempe, William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones and others [ [http://www.newforestparishes.com/page8/page2/lyndhurst.html New Forest Parishes] ] . Other major landmarks include Bolton's Bench, a picturesque hill to the east of the village; and a row of much photographed thatched cottages on the road to the neighbouring hamlet of Emery Down.

The village is the administrative capital of the New Forest, with the district council based in the village. The Court of Verderers sits in the Queens House in Lyndhurst. The headquarters of the Forestry Commission, the body that handles the maintenance of the softwood plantations, forest roads and paths, and controlling the spread of invasive plants, such as Rhododendrons and Gorse is based in Queen's House in the Village.

The headquarters of the privately owned British chemicals company INEOS are located in the village. Also situated towards the outskirts of the village is Foxlease the GirlGuiding UK association headquaters Foxlease, a training and activity centre of Girlguiding UK since 1922, and scene of several internationally important Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting events, is near the village.

Transport links

The village itself is the meeting point of the A35, running east to west from Southampton to Bournemouth and the A337 running north to south from the M27 to Lymington on the south coast. To deal with the large volume of traffic that is created by this link, a one-way system is used. This in effect turns the major roads of the village into a traffic circle. During the summer months, the traffic through the village increases hugely because of the tourists who visit the area. This can create queues into the village from all directions. The parish council has suggested that a bypass around the village may reduce the problems caused by traffic in the centre of the village. [http://www.lyndhurstparishcouncil.org.uk/Bypass/Bypass-Homepage.htm] Although Lyndhurst itself does not have a railway station, it is only four miles (6 km) from Brockenhurst and three miles (5 km) from Ashurst, both stations on the South Western Main Line to London and Weymouth. Bus service operated by Wilts & Dorset and Black Velvet Travel run frequently to Southampton and Lymington, also several times each weekday to Ringwood. There are also two daily National Express coach departures to London Victoria.

Gallery

References

External links

* [http://www.newforest-online.co.uk/lyndhurst.asp New Forest Online page on Lyndhurst]
* [http://www.nfdc.gov.uk/ New Forest District Council website]
* [http://www.strollingguides.co.uk/books/newforest/places/lyndhurst.php Photographs and Information from Strolling Guides]
* [http://www.thenewforest.net New Forest Community Media] - A not-for-profit media site serving the National Park