Lyndhurst, the historic ‘capital of the New Forest’, is one of the most picturesque and bustling villages in Hampshire. Its quaint high street of independent shops and tearooms makes it a natural stopping point for visitors heading into the national park. But with charm comes a familiar problem: traffic. On peak weekends, long lines of cars crawl along the A35 and A337, sometimes backing up as far as the M27, as day-trippers funnel into the narrow streets that serve as the gateway to the New Forest.
For many residents, the congestion has become part of daily life. “Sometimes it feels like the village is being strangled,” said one local, who did not wish to be named. “If I pop out to get bread or milk at the wrong time of day, I can be stuck in my car for half an hour just trying to get across the high street. It’s exhausting.”
Others take a more pragmatic view. Ingrid Bond, owner of Down to the Wood, said: “Traffic can be overwhelming, but it’s just the price we have to pay. We wouldn’t have survived COVID if not for the traffic. We’ve been here for 32 years, and people have told us they wouldn’t have come in if they hadn’t driven past us on their way somewhere.”
Not everyone is so forgiving. Carol Dear, a resident, pointed to a lorry rumbling past the village green as we spoke. “Lorries come down the main road through the village and they shouldn’t be. That’s what I was told when I moved here.”
Visitors, by contrast, often take it in their stride.
Mike and Kerrie Simkins, from Ashford in Kent, make an annual trip to Lyndhurst. “We pick and choose which route to take when we come in, we like the different shops,” said Kerrie.
“A bypass would have been good for the villagers who live here.”
The idea of a Lyndhurst bypass has been floated for decades.
Plans once made it to Westminster, but the proposal was blocked after being “talked out” by the local MP. Since the New Forest was granted national park status in 2005, major new roadbuilding has become virtually impossible.
Cllr David Harrison, who represents nearby Totton South, said: “Years ago, they were talking about building a bypass around Lyndhurst, but that was scuppered by the Member of Parliament at the time.
“Since then, of course, we’ve got national park status, and it’s almost impossible to build new roads in national park lands. So I think we’re kind of stuck with the issue.”
Instead, he said, the traffic is largely caused by visitors rather than locals.
“Anybody who lives locally knows to avoid Lyndhurst at peak times, especially at weekends,” he explained. “You’ll rarely find a local person stuck in the traffic. But everyone who lives within a 70-mile radius, including those in London, tends to make the mistake of coming into the New Forest and getting stuck. The queues can last an hour or more.”
With the bypass option long dead, attention has turned to other measures. “The National Park is looking at longer-term plans which involve things like Park and Ride facilities,” Cllr Harrison said.
“We’ve also got public transport. You may know about the New Forest tour buses, which encourage people not to bring their cars in, arrive by train, and travel around in a more environmentally friendly way.”
For now, villagers remain split. For some, the gridlock is a daily irritation; for others, it keeps shops busy and the high street vibrant.
Cllr Harrison believes compromise is the only way forward.
“It’s an issue we’ve lived with for generations, and it’s got steadily worse in the last couple of decades as more people visit,” he said.
“There are air quality issues with slow-moving traffic, and it isn’t welcome, but local people have learned to live with it. They’ve adapted their routines and avoid the worst times. Visitors haven’t, and they’re the ones who get stuck.”