This review was part of a gifted stay at The Master Builder’s.
When we moved down to Southampton from London, I started to panic. How would I deal without the daily life of the big city? How would I cope?! Could I?!
The answer came faster than I’d thought. It turns out, I actually liked living away from London. Living outside the city means that I can enjoy a slower pace of life daily. And visiting London every now and then made me appreciate it more when I do. Somehow, slowly but surely, I moved away from the thinking of “I must live in London” to I’m completely happy NOT living there anymore.
My exploration of city life turned into exploring my very own surroundings, which I think helped me fall in love with life outside of London that much more.
And nearby to my new home is the expansive New Forest. I’ve known for a long time about the charms that the New Forest has to offer. Wildlife roam completely free which means that the New Forest ponies have right of way while crossing. I’ve seen wild pigs roaming too. I honestly couldn’t believe my eyes.
So while I’ve always visited in the past, I’ve never had the chance to really stay in the forest itself and Beaulieu is the PERFECT starting platform for exploring the area.
Beaulieu is home to a few treasures worth mentioning for the explorers… the National Motor Museum, The Palace House and Beaulieu Abbey.Most importantly on this occasion and what Joe and I were focussing on…Enter The Master Builder’s. Located at Buckler’s Hard, when we arrived at the hotel, we realised that we’d actually seen it before...
Joe and I had watched a program on the BBC about forestry called A Year in the New Forest – which prominently featured Buckler’s Hard. We couldn’t believe how we were visiting a place we’d just seen on a programme earlier that week. Call us fascinated! We couldn’t wait to have a night away from home in this beautiful location because that’s what the New Forest is. Around every nook, cranny and corner… it’s well, beautiful.
You’ll find The Master Builder’s located right on the water nestled in Bucker’s Hard. With a sprawling restaurant and a pub all hosted within the building, there’s always something to look at or do. It was still the middle of winter on our visit… we were lucky to catch a sun-shiny day! And it was a chance to relax from the hustle and bustle of our usual routines running around Southampton and back and forth to London for work.
A night away in the New Forest, sounds pretty great right? You bet!
Here’s the lowdown on why you need to book a New Forest stay at The Master Builder’s
Get cosy in their Luxury Rooms
The Master Builder’s kindly welcomed us with one of their Luxury Rooms overlooking the sea. We stayed in The Pacific room and I’d highly recommend it. The hotel reminds me a little bit like one of my favourites inns on the lakes in New York state. I already felt right at home. Each room looks completely different and I think that’s such a unique, wonderful feature in a hotel. PS isn’t the headboard in the Pacific room oh so dreamy?? Other rooms at the hotel are some of their “chic” and “posh” rooms which are slightly more modernised. For larger group getaways or if you’re looking for plenty of space, I’d recommend taking a look into their guest cottages.
And don’t forget to RELAX in the morning. We had coffees in the room and had a paper delivered upstairs too. It felt so good to open the windows wide and lounge in our comfy bed.
Explore around the hotel
You’ll notice immediately when you walk in that The Master Builder’s has quite a nautical theme to it. It’s steeped in rich history of Buckler’s Hard – where ship-makers used to live and work.
Sit by the fire or out in the garden at the Yachtsman’s Bar & Garden
Ah the pub at The Master Builder’s makes me feel like I’m properly in the New Forest. The outside of the pub is part of Buckler’s Hard with picnic tables lined up for patrons to enjoy no matter the weather. Inside you’ll find cosy tables, fireplaces and pints to enjoy (or wine if you’re like me). Further in the garden is a fully functioning pub garden. The pub garden is open during the warmer months of the year. We spoke with the staff who said in the summertime it’s packed and I can completely understand why. The setting is absolutely beautiful and on a hot summer’s night along the water, it sounds like paradise.
Eat dinner at the Riverview Restaurant
What a seriously surprising menu! The restaurant is AA Rosette-awarded and it SHOWS. The menu is comprised of familiar dishes with a fine dining twist. We started with the grilled mackerel and fried scallops. Followed by our mains, we had selected the steak and the cod. While these sound simple enough, I can’t express how much thought and preparation is in these dishes. In other words, it’s not simply a steak. It’s a 8oz 36 day aged sirloin steak, pommes neuf, cherry tomatoes and sauté new forest mushrooms to be exact. And it’s not simply the cod, it’s Skrei cod poached in clarified citrus butter, creamy chive mash, mussels and courgette ribbons. They were seriously delicious. And if you’re lucky enough to experience this restaurant in the daytime, it overlooks the Beaulieu River.
Don’t skip out on breakfast!
Back to the Riverview Restaurant. The restaurant offers up continental as well as hot cooked breakfasts. After a night polishing off a bottle of wine… we craved a good ole’ English Breakfast. It did the trick and I was feeling right as rain in no time.
Processed with VSCO with c8 preset 
Wander through Buckler’s Hard
In the morning, we wandered outside in the sunshine around the property of The Master Builder’s and this means taking a moment to enjoy the beauty of Buckler’s Hard.
You can even pop into the Buckler’s Hard Maritime Museum. However, you’ll need to grab tickets to enter. Most importantly, your ticket will grant you entrance to the historic village and waterfront in addition to the Maritime Museum and Buckler’s Hard Story, the Shipwright’s Cottage and all day car parking.Unfortunately we didn’t have time to get tickets on this occasion but we’re already planning a visit back this summertime.
All aboard! Be sure to go on a river cruise in season
Oh my goodness, I wish this had been running during our visit but you can travel along Beaulieu River on a river cruise from Easter to October. Located down along the water from The Master Builder’s and Buckler’s Hard. Only £5 for an adult ticket and £3 for kids.
We had a wonderful time so I can safely say we’ll be returning again. I’m looking forward to a spring and summertime with visits along the water. And I’m absolutely keen to try out that river cruise next time too!
Have you ever visited Beaulieu or the New Forest before?
Kelly xx
PS. This is a review as part of a gifted stay at The Master Builder’s. As always all opinions are my own, along with my photography, food choices, etc, etc.
In case you missed them, be sure to check out my latest posts 5 things to do in Chamonix if you don’t ski (and even if you do!) and my recent visit to Mont Blanc and how I handled dealing with the altitude change.