The New Forest
Sports injury rehab and massage built around the New Forest trails
My clinic is at 3A Ferryboat House in Hythe, on the Forest’s eastern edge where it meets Southampton Water. I’m Alice, a sports therapist who also coaches strength and conditioning. If the Forest is where you run, ride or walk, you’ll know the niggles it hands out, from an ankle turned on a Saturday morning at Wilverley to knees that ache after a day of following the waymarked cycle posts. An injury assessment is usually where we start.
About New Forest
A royal forest that still runs on commoning
William the Conqueror proclaimed the New Forest a royal forest around 1079, and Domesday Book recorded it as “Nova Foresta” in 1086. Just over 20 years after the proclamation came its most famous story: on 2 August 1100 King William II, known as Rufus, was fatally wounded by an arrow while hunting in the Forest, and the Rufus Stone near Minstead marks the reputed spot.
What still sets the Forest apart is commoning. Commoners hold rights attached to their properties that let them turn animals out onto the open Forest, and every pony you pass belongs to one of them. The Verderers put the herd at roughly 4,800 ponies, though numbers change from year to year, grazing alongside cattle, donkeys, pigs and a few sheep turned out by around 650 commoners.
Commoning comes with its own rules. Owners pay a yearly marking fee for each animal they turn out, ponies carry their owner’s brand, and once a pony’s fee is paid its tail is cut in the pattern of the local Agister. The Verderers regulate commoning from The King’s House in Lyndhurst, and the Agisters they employ supervise the animals out on the Forest. Autumn brings pannage, when commoners turn their pigs out to eat fallen acorns, which are poisonous to ponies and cattle. The Verderers and Forestry England set its dates each year, and these days between 200 and 600 pigs go out. Feeding or touching the ponies can get you fined or prosecuted, so enjoy them from a distance.
The Forest was designated a National Park on 1 March 2005. The park covers 566 km² and is home to about 38,000 people, while most of the roughly 170,000 people in the wider New Forest district live outside its boundary.
Places you’ll know
- The Rufus Stone, Minstead
- Near the A31, marking where William II is said to have been shot in 1100. Its inscription blames an arrow fired by Sir Walter Tyrrell at a stag, which glanced off an oak, and the cast-iron cover went on in 1841 after repeated vandalism.
- Wilverley Inclosure
- Off the Burley to Brockenhurst road, where Brockenhurst parkrun sets off at 9am each Saturday; it’s free to take part.
- The autumn drifts
- Not a place but a yearly round-up: the Agisters hold around 40 pony drifts between mid-August and early November, when ponies are checked over and branded where needed, and Beaulieu Road holds pony sales once in spring and several times in autumn.
- Pipers Wait, near Nomansland
- The highest point in the Forest, at 129 m (423 ft) above sea level.
Staying active
From Wilverley Plain to the Solent Way
Saturday mornings at Wilverley Inclosure belong to Brockenhurst parkrun, a free 9am 5k entirely on gravel forest tracks. If an ankle needs some reassurance on that gravel, I can apply sports taping in the days before. Cyclists are asked to keep to Forestry England’s waymarked routes, picked out by wooden posts, with advice to pass animals and horse-riders wide and slow. The 60-mile Solent Way crosses the Forest’s southern fringe past Sowley Pond, Buckler’s Hard and Beaulieu on its way to Hythe, and on the water Lymington Town Sailing Club runs club dinghy racing alongside open regattas.
Off-road miles bring their own hazards. Forestry England warns cyclists about potholes, uneven surfaces and cattle grids, and running on forest tracks loads ankles, calves and knees differently from tarmac. Hours in the saddle, on the coast path or in a dinghy tend to leave hips, backs and shoulders tight. I treat these, and rehabilitation is shaped by the trails, routes or water you use. Sports massage helps between long days, with myofascial cupping added when backs stay tight.
How I can help
- Injury Assessment From £55
If an ankle goes over at the Saturday parkrun in Wilverley Inclosure, or a knee starts grumbling a mile into a run on Wilverley Plain, an assessment helps pin down what’s going on before you head back out.
- Rehabilitation From £45
If the aim is to get back on the waymarked cycle routes or out for a full day on the Solent Way, each stage of rehab builds towards that ride or walk, so the return is gradual and specific.
- Sports Massage From £30
Long days in the saddle, a stretch of the coast path or an afternoon racing dinghies at Lymington can stiffen legs, backs and shoulders; massage in between can take the edge off that stiffness.
Also available: Myofascial Cupping, Strength & Conditioning, Sports Taping, Pitch-side & Event First Aid.
Getting here
Getting to the clinic from the New Forest
Pitch-side and event first aid is the one service I bring to you. Everything else happens at the clinic, so wherever you start in the Forest you’ll be heading east, towards Southampton Water, to reach 3A Ferryboat House, Pylewell Road, Hythe SO45 6AR. It’s a short walk from Hythe Pier, with the marina and village centre close by. The drive from Beaulieu is about 4.7 miles (roughly 11 minutes), from Ashurst about 7.1 miles (roughly 13 minutes), from Lyndhurst about 10 miles (roughly 19 minutes), from Brockenhurst about 11 miles (roughly 23 minutes) and from Lymington about 11.2 miles (roughly 24 minutes). The A326 links Totton with Fawley along the Waterside.
Public transport usually means two buses. Morebus’s New Forest Breezer 86 links Lymington, Brockenhurst, Lyndhurst and Ashurst with Totton and Southampton, and Morebus lists its Breezer buses as seasonal routes. Bluestar’s route 8 runs from Southampton to Hythe via Millbrook, Totton, Hounsdown, Pooksgreen and Applemore, so Totton or Southampton can be your change. Check the current timetable with the operator for each leg, including whether the Breezer is running that day, before picking a time to book.
I see people by appointment only. Book online (opens in a new tab), send an enquiry or email mendandmovest@outlook.com.
Also close by: Lyndhurst, Brockenhurst, Beaulieu, Buckler’s Hard, Lymington, Sway, Minstead, Ashurst, Totton, Marchwood, Dibden Purlieu, Fawley, Calshot, Burley, Ringwood, Fordingbridge, New Milton, Bransgore, Nomansland.
Postcodes covered
- SO40
- Totton and Ashurst
- SO41
- Lymington and Sway
- SO42
- Brockenhurst, Beaulieu and East Boldre
- SO43
- Lyndhurst and Minstead
- SO45
- Hythe and Fawley
- BH23
- Bransgore
- BH24
- Ringwood and Burley
- BH25
- New Milton
- SP6
- Fordingbridge
Services & pricing
Prices
The same prices apply wherever you travel from.
Treatment & assessment
Rehabilitation & extras
Programme costs may vary depending on individual requirements. Please enquire for current availability and appointment location.
Price list with full detailsGood to know
Questions from the New Forest
- Which parts of the Forest are closest to the clinic?
- The eastern side. Beaulieu is roughly 11 minutes away by car and Ashurst roughly 13. From Lyndhurst allow about 19 minutes, and from Brockenhurst or Lymington 23 to 24 minutes, depending on traffic.
- I’m building up to a long walk or ride in the Forest. Can you help me get ready?
- Yes. Whether it’s a few days on the 60-mile Solent Way or your longest ride yet on the waymarked routes, strength and conditioning can help you prepare. We begin with a free online consultation about your goal, then I write a programme around your experience, the equipment you have and the time you’ve got, which you can follow wherever you train. If an old injury flares up along the way, I can assess and treat it at the clinic, and a package of three sports massage sessions can keep your legs moving through the heavier weeks.
- Do you cover Forest running or cycling events, such as those around Wilverley?
- Yes, subject to availability. Pitch-side and event first aid is work I travel for, and my cover area across Hampshire includes the New Forest. I hold PHICIS Level 2 (Pre-Hospital Immediate Care in Sport), an England Rugby course. For availability and a quote, tell me the date, where the event starts and roughly how many runners or riders are taking part, by email to mendandmovest@outlook.com.
Ready to make a start?
Book online in a couple of minutes, or send me a message if you’d like to talk it through first.