The best photography locations in the New Forest — a complete guide.
Four locations that every New Forest photographer should know, from towering ancient woodland to misty heathland sunrises
The New Forest is one of the most photographically rich landscapes in Britain. In a single morning you can move from cathedral-like woodland where the trees tower thirty metres above your head, to open heathland where the light sweeps across ancient beeches and the mist sits low in the valleys until mid-morning. I've spent years shooting in this forest and it still surprises me.
This is my personal guide to four of the best photography locations in the New Forest — two well-known spots that reward early risers, and two quieter gems that most visitors never find. I've included practical details for each one: where to park, the best time of day, and what to look for when you get there.
If you want to go deeper, I've put together a free downloadable map of my favourite spots across the forest — more on that at the end.
1. Bolderwood
Bolderwood Arboretum Ornamental Drive, near Lyndhurst · SO43 7GQ
Best time: early morning - Best season: all year -Easy parking on site -Deer viewing platform
Bolderwood in morning light - Lee Cooper Photography
Bolderwood is where you come when you want to feel small. The trees here are among the tallest in the New Forest — ancient Douglas firs and redwoods that dwarf everything beneath them — and on a clear morning the light drops through the canopy in long, dramatic shafts that make even a simple composition feel cinematic.
It's also one of the best places in the forest to photograph deer. The deer viewing platform sits a short walk from the car park, and if you arrive early enough — ideally just after first light — you have a real chance of watching fallow deer move through the treeline as the mist clears. They tend to disappear once the car park fills up, so early is everything here.
The car park itself is well-organised and easy to find, and there's a coffee van run by the team at Trailside Cafe — well worth stopping at before or after your shoot. Highly recommended.
2. Rhinefield Ornamental Drive
Rhinefield Rd, Brockenhurst · SO42 7QB
Best time: early morning - Best season: autumn & spring - Good parking nearby - Arboretum on site
If Bolderwood makes you feel small, Rhinefield makes you feel like you've stepped into another world entirely. This is the most picturesque drive in the whole of the New Forest — a long avenue of towering ornamental trees that arch overhead and create one of the most naturally dramatic compositions you'll find anywhere in southern England.
Rhinefield is home to two of the tallest trees in the entire forest, and the arboretum here offers trails that take you deeper into the planting. In autumn the colour is extraordinary — warm golds and deep ambers against the dark trunks of the conifers — but this is a location that rewards a visit in any season. The structure of the trees is so strong that even a grey winter morning produces something worth shooting.
Like Bolderwood, morning is the best time. The same Trailside Cafe van operates here too, which makes the early start considerably easier.
3. Vereley
Vereley Hill Car Park, Coach Hill Lane, Burley · BH24 4HH
Best time: sunrise & early morning - Best season: autumn & misty mornings - Easy loop walk - Lesser known gem
4. Oakley
Lyndhurst Rd, Burley · BH24 4HP
Best time: golden hour - Best season: year-round - Hidden & quiet - Old and new growth
Oakley is a small, hidden corner of the New Forest that very few people know about, and that's a large part of its appeal. Where Vereley is open and sweeping, Oakley is intimate — a blend of old and new growth that creates a layered, complex landscape with a completely different feel to the more famous spots in the forest.
Some of my favourite oak scenes come from here. The older trees have a presence and solidity that rewards slow, careful composition — this isn't a location you rush through. Take your time, look closely, and you'll find details and angles that genuinely surprise you. It's the kind of place that rewards repeat visits in different seasons and different light.
These four locations cover a good range of what makes the New Forest such a remarkable place to photograph — from the grand and imposing to the quiet and intimate. But the forest is enormous, and there are dozens more spots worth exploring beyond these four.
Get my free New Forest photography map
I've put together a free downloadable map of my favourite photography spots across the New Forest — including many more locations beyond the four in this guide. Hidden ponds, misty trails, viewpoints, ancient trees. It's completely free — just drop your email below and it'll land in your inbox straight away.
