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The Old Stables, now one of our large New Forest cottages, is set back from the road down it's own secluded drive off the High Street, in the centre of Lyndhurst, the ‘capital’ of the New Forest.
The huge cottage is a wonderful conversion of a fine Victorian stable building, the most unique of our large New Forest cottages, full of character with high vaulted ceilings, expansive living spaces and many original stable features retained or re-used. Big cottages sleeping 30 people rarely have all the dining at one large table. The Old Stables does exactly this, making it the perfect venue for large family get-togethers, birthday celebrations, hen weekends and business events alike.
The village centre location is ideal for large group accommodation, any of the pubs, restaurants, shops or cafés are accessible in minutes without the need to travel out in cars. Although the village centre is prominent and lively there is hardly any development beyond this and you are able to walk straight out into the New Forest National Park in minutes, rather than needing cars for access to forest walks. An easy place to walk along to is Bolton’s Bench, where you can walk for miles into the forest, play a game of rounders in summer or go sledging or snowboarding in winter!
The location in the middle of the New Forest means that nowhere is too far away, whether its the coastal areas and towns in the south of the New Forest, the remote parts of the north forest, Southampton in the East or Bournemouth to the West or any of the beautiful areas between, you will not have far to travel from here.
The dining for up to thirty people in one room at one table makes this large cottage a great place to have a special birthday or other celebration meal. Book the chef’s team for the night and celebrate with the finest local seasonal food prepared with passion and presented beautifully at the table, with no washing up to do afterwards or any large wine bill – just bring your own drinks. And then no need to worry about taxis home – you are all already there! Just retire to the lounge or your room in your own time.
Until a decade ago, The Old Stables was derelict, with the roof removed and part of the end fallen down, but had all the original Stable features intact. During the conversion we reinstated the roof and formed the internal layout and floors, opening up the large fireplace and reusing the stable setts outside. The cast iron stable divisions were used as the banisters and all the large beams, A-frames and other timberwork were retained and left exposed. The feature round windows remain, along with all the original character. Outside appears exactly as it would have done when the occupants were horses rather than holidaymakers, the only additions being the discreet conservation rooflights which provide plenty of light to the glorious spaces inside.
The lounge is over 38ft long with high vaulted ceilings and exposed A-frame beams, a large open fireplace, grand piano, pew and a couple of fireside chairs occupy a raised area, from which full width steps take you down to the lower part, which has settees, chairs, television & DVD player, and a projector for presentations (plug a laptop in) or for films via the attached DVD player.
The kitchen / dining room has a table for 30 people to eat together, with at one end the freestanding stainless steel 'Udden' kitchen units containing dishwasher and twin cookers providing three ovens and eight hobs. A huge larder fridge and a second fridge/freezer stand adjacent, with a full freezer, washing machine and further sink in the utility room just off the kitchen.
Near here is a double bedroom and a shower room with basin and wc, with two more bedrooms and a bathroom with bath, separate thermostatic shower over the bath, basin and wc, accessed from the staircase here. At the other end of the dining room, another staircase leads up to two family bedrooms with another similar bathroom. One of these bedrooms contains the hayloft door, now a window, which is seen from outside. All these four bedrooms have high vaulted ceilings, with stable balustrading to the staircases and the odd round window.
The other bedrooms and bathrooms are off the far end of the lounge. A contemporary shower room with wall hung wc and basin, and a bathroom with freestanding double ended bath, corner power shower, and wall hung wc and basin, serve the remaining four bedrooms this end, one of which is a family room with sliding patio doors, two are double rooms, and the largest, vaulted and galleried room has a double or up to eight single beds, still with ample space, and a Juliet balcony with views over playing fields.
Please browse the gallery for photographs of The Old Stables, and the gallery of the nearby area. Details of our other New Forest Cottages, and further information on the New Forest are all accessible from the links on the right hand side of this page. |
