Bed and breakfast availability
Ringwood b&b, guesthouse and hotel accommodation

Visit Ringwood and the surrounding villages and stay in bed & breakfast accommodation:

Ringwood, Hampshire, a market town and a favourite place for retirement, is situated by the River Avon. Houses date from all periods and include pretty thatch. The church, which is particularly attractive when viewed from the bridge, was built in Early English style in the 19^th century, but contains a 15^th-century brass to John Prophete.

Monmouth stayed here during his abortive rebellion, at a house still named after him. Later, after the disastrous Battle of Sedgemoor in 1685, he was brought back to the White Hart, and from there wrote abject letters to his uncle James II, but these did nothing to save his head. The original White Hart Inn is so named because Henry VII is said to have spared the life of a white hart while hunting nearby, giving it a fine gold collar and taking it off to Windsor.

Ringwood is just outside the New Forest, but with heath and woodland near at hand, it is a good centre for riding and golf and for exploring. Hightown Common, 2 miles east, also lies just on the edge of the forest. From here there are wonderful views, not only over the woods, but also to Dorset and down to Christchurch, 9 miles to the south.

Just over 2 miles north the road leads to Ellingham and St Mary's Church, lying on the banks of the Avon. The church has a 15^th-century screen, a barrel roof and an hour-glass, and an almost unique tympanum, with the Lord's Prayer, the Commandments and texts all written out in a beautiful hand. The Royal Arms are dated 1671. The reredos is said to be by Grinling Gibbons, and the church has a fine picture of the Last Judgment, which was brought back from the sack of Cadiz in 1702. Dame Alicia Lisle of Moyles Court nearby lies in the churchyard. She was one of the first victims of the infamous Judge Jeffreys' Bloody Assizes. Aged about 70, she was beheaded for harbouring rebels after the Battle of Sedgemoor. The conviction was annulled four years later by special Act of Parliament on petition by her two daughters.

Nearby cities: Salisbury, Southampton

Nearby towns: Bournemouth, Fordingbridge, Lyndhurst, Verwood, West Moors

Nearby villages: Burley, Bagnum, Ellingham, Mockbeggar, Plumley, Three Legged Cross

Have you decided to visit Ringwood or the surrounding villages? Please look above for somewhere to stay in:

• a Ringwood bed and breakfast (a Ringwood B&B or Ringwood b and b)
• a Ringwood guesthouse
• a Ringwood hotel (or motel)
• a Ringwood self-catering establishment, or
• other Ringwood accommodation