Your Winter Walk Awaits
For many, it remains a Christmas tradition to take a stroll in the countryside after quite literally devouring a plate of turkey, pigs in blankets and of course…stuffing! Whilst you might prefer to keep your walk local, we're here to help inspire you to go somewhere new this year. Below are just a few classic British locations, ideal for a festive walk.
1. Stowe, Buckinghamshire
Dig out your wellies and enjoy the crisp frosty atmosphere at National Trust Stowe, with 250 acres of lawns, lakes and woods to explore. Designed and built in the 18th century, Stowe is regarded as one of the great English Landscape gardens.
2. Magdalen College Deer Park, Oxford
With dramatic and elaborate landscapes, Magdalen College’s Deer Park boasts perfectly maintained gardens. Walk through the college’s 15th century quadrangles and out into a circular trail that cuts across the city centre’s rivers and into a world of lush conifers and winter flowers.
3. Shaftesbury, Dorset
The beautiful Dorset town of Shaftesbury hosts plenty of walking routes - the town is a quintessential mix of thatched and stone properties and quiet country lanes, and of course, no visit would be complete without a stroll down Gold Hill, the cobbled hill made famous in many photographs and, most memorably, in the 1973 Hovis TV Advert.
4. Frogham to Fritham and back Hampshire
At approx. 11 miles, this circuit walk is a leg-stretching, lung-expanding journey into the heart of the New Forest. The latter part of the route runs through a wild wood before emerging into open heathland where you’ll find the Royal Oak – perfect for a post-walk pint. Start your walk at Abbots Well car park.
5. The Savill Garden, Great Windsor Park
This is a gem of a garden throughout the year and part of Windsor Great Park. Created by Eric Savill in the 1930s, it was gardener John Bond who developed the garden and made it truly spectacular. Usually free to visitors during the winter months, The Queen Elizabeth Temperate House poinsettias provide festive cheer in the lead up to Christmas, while hyacinths and scented narcissi fill the Temperate House with perfume early in the New Year.