Jane's Midlife Journey

Moors Valley Country Park is a forest park on the edge of the New Forest, just 11 miles from Bournemouth. You can walk/cycle scenic trails through the forest and round the lake plus a whole lot more besides including playgrounds, a miniature railway, high ropes and golf.

How to get to Moors Valley Country Park

The park is 11 miles north of Bournemouth, taking the A338 until you reach the A31 junction, then take the Horton Road exit and drive until you see the entrance to the park on the right hand side.

By Bus

The location is quite remote, so not easily reached by public transport. It can be done, but takes around 1.5 hours and involves a combination of two buses plus two miles of walking.

Parking

There is a large car park. Charges vary considerably depending on the day/date, ranging from £5.40 for an hour during peak times (£16.50 for the whole day) to £2.50 for all day midweek during winter. Early Bird and Season Ticket options are also available.

Opening Times

The car park is open daily from 8 am, with closing times varying seasonally between 5.30 pm and 7 pm. The Visitor Centre, toilets and restaurant may open slightly later. Other attractions within the park have their own operating times.

Price

There is no charge to enter the park after you have paid for parking. Some activities do incur an additional charge.

Visitor Centre

The Visitor Centre provides information and sells tickets. There is also a gift shop and very pleasant (for a forest) toilets.

Trails

There a variety of trails suitable for pedestrians, cyclists and horses. Cycles can be hired from near the Visitor Centre.

Food & Drink

The newly open Barn Café is open daily for breakfast, lunch and snacks, which can be eaten inside or in the courtyard.

Other food concessions may be available according to the season (and weather). The Explorers’ Kiosk serves takeaway drinks, snacks and ice cream. There are two further kiosks at Kingsmere Station and Lakeside Station, plus an Ice Cream Kiosk.

Moors Valley Railway

The park has its own miniature railway; Moors Valley Railway, where you can take a ride on a mini steam train between the park’s two stations – Kingsmere and Lakeside. A return ticket costs £5.75 (£3.95 for children over the age of 2). The railway isn’t open daily. There is a timetable on the website.

Go Ape

Inside the park you will find a Go Ape, which offers High Ropes as well as a Nets Adventure and Segway hire.

Laser Tag

Fancy shooting stuff in the forest? Well, at Laser Tag, you can crawl around in the mud doing just that for £22.50 for 90 minutes.

Sports

Other sports include parkrun on Saturday mornings, junior parkrun on Sunday mornings, orienteering, golf and fishing – is fishing a sport?

Moors Valley Country Park for Children

A useful Play Map shows all the activities suited to children, including shorter walking and cycling trails. Children’s bikes are available for hire.

Play Trail

The Play Trail passes through a number of play areas, such the Ants Nest and Snake Pit. There is also an optional add-on Treetop Trail suitable for older children.

You can spot child friendly Gruffalo sculptures along the way.

Play Areas

There are two large Play Areas next to the Visitor Centre; one suitable for younger and one for older children.

Stick Man Trail

The Stick Man Trail is a mile long activity trail through the park. You can purchase a Trail Pack from the Visitor Centre (£4), which contains a passport full of stick based activities, including making your own stick man to bring along on your adventure.

Adventure Valley

Adventure Valley offers further activities for children, including Mini Golf and Mini Land Rovers. There are additional charges for these activities (£8.50 for a round of golf or £8.50 per driver for the cars).

There are also, of course, the Railway, Go Ape and Laser Tag. In addition, there are plenty of seasonal activities laid on during school holidays, for example an Easter Egg Hunt, Halloween Trail and Christmas crafts.

Moors Valley Country Park for Dogs

Dogs are welcome in the park. A Dog Walkers Map indicates where dogs may be walked on and off lead and the designated dog paddle areas in the lake. There is a dog wash near the Visitor Centre. Bear in mind that there are bridleways within the park, so you may encounter horses.

• Updated: April 2025

I hope you found this information useful. For more inspiration on things to do in and around Bournemouth, check out my 101 Things to do in Bournemouth here.