Newforest-rhinefieldornamentaldrive-1

About trip

At the bottom of the Rhinefield Ornamental Drive stands the Rhinefield House Hotel, a flamboyant Jacobean-style house, built in 1890 on the site of a hunting lodge used by Charles II. Magnificent gardens surround the mansion and rhododendrons and azaleas line the ornamental carriage drive, until 1938 a gravel track, that links the house with the A35. Planted informally in the mid-19th century with exotic trees such as Wellingtonias, redwoods, black spruce and Spanish fir, the Ornamental Drive has reached maturity and some of the trees are the largest of their species in Britain. This short circular trail passes some of these fine specimens.