Highcliffe-on Sea, Milford-on-Sea & Barton-on-Sea

To the west of Mudeford, along the Avon beach path, lie the small towns of Highcliffe, Milford-on-Sea and Barton-on-Sea, all with magnificent views across the Solent to the Isle of Wight.

Of particular interest is Highcliffe Castle, a Grade 1 listed building built between 1831 and 1835 for Lord Stuart de Rothesay and famous for its “romantic and picturesque style of architecture”.  The castle contains large quantities of carved medieval stone masonry from much older European sites.

At nearby New Milton, is the Sammy Miller Museum containing over 400 rare and classic motorcycles and forming one of the finest collections of this type in Europe.

The beach is more natural along this stretch of the coastline and form’s an impressive 90km costal path into Hampshire and beyond.  Care should be observed in some areas due to coastal erosion but this same natural action makes Barton-on-Sea famous for fossils.

There are a number of high quality restaurants in this area, most notable amongst these are The Lord Bute Hotel, Chewton Glen Country House Hotel and Pebble Beach restaurant.