AUTUMN is the perfect time for getting out and about and enjoying a pub walk. Here are recommendations on where to visit in the New Forest.

High Corner Inn

Described as the “best kept secret in the New Forest”, the High Corner Inn at Linwood is located down a gravel track and is the perfect place for spotting ponies, deer, birds and other inhabitants of the New Forest National Park. This “rustic pub” with fireplaces is dog friendly and prides itself on serving locally soured British cuisine. On the menu you’ll find hearty dishes like sausage and mash, burgers, fish and chips and steak.

The Red Shoot

Situated in the heart of the New Forest National Park, this country pub boasts its own onsite microbrewery. Every day the pub serves fresh, home-cooked food including beer battered fish & chips to a Hunter’s board with cheddar, honey roast ham, chutney, piccalilli and rustic bread. The pub welcomes children, horses and dogs and even has a printed version of a walk that customers can collect from the bar.

Royal Oak

This pub at Fritham, dubbed a “New Forest institution” is both dog and family friendly. Fritham Walk is one of the most popular in the New Forest and the circular walk will take you across a mixture of open land and forest takes in plenty of wildlife, including deer, and passes Eyeworth Pond, which was once the site of a gunpowder factory.

The Alice Lisle

The Alice Lisle on the outskirts of Ringwood overlooks Blashford and Rockford Lakes, making it the ideal place for nature lovers to sit and watch the Forest's inhabitants. Walkers and cyclists will find it a welcome place to stop and recharge their batteries after exploring Blashford Lakes nature reserve. There's a kitchen and a bar menu and seasonal ingredients are sourced locally from New Forest suppliers.

Queen's Head

This Burley pub dates back to 1685 and is packed full of "authentic charming characteristics". For those who fancy a light walk before lunch, there's a 4.2 mile circular walk around the edge of the village which has a gentle climb along Castle Hill Lane where you can see views across Avon Valley before you pass Iron Age hillfort Castle Hill. The walk will take you past the Queen's Head where chilly walkers will be able to warm themselves by roaring log fires.