Ashurst is a village in the New Forest

New Forest (district)

New Forest is a local government district in Hampshire, England. It is named after the New Forest.It was created on 1 April 1974, and was a merger of the borough of Lymington, New Forest Rural District and part of Ringwood and Fordingbridge Rural District....

 district of Hampshire

Hampshire

Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, which together with Colbury

Colbury

Colbury is a small village in the New Forest National Park, in Hampshire, England. The village lies along Deerleap Lane, near the modern village of Ashurst.-History:...

 hamlet makes the parish of Ashurst and Colbury. Ashurst is on the A35 road

A35 road

The A35 is a trunk road in southern England, running from Honiton in Devon, that then passes through Dorset and terminates in Southampton, Hampshire...

 near the Southampton

Southampton

Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...

 conurbation. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 2,011. The parish is on the edge of the designated New Forest National Park area. The village has a campsite, some shops and a railway station

Ashurst New Forest railway station

Ashurst railway station is a railway station serving the village of Ashurst in Hampshire, England. It is located on the South Western Main Line from London Waterloo to Weymouth.-History:...

. The parish is bounded to the west by Netley Marsh

Netley Marsh

Netley Marsh is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, UK, close to the town of Totton. It lies within the New Forest District council, and the New Forest National Park. It is the alleged site of the battle between an invading Anglo Saxon army, under Cerdic and a British army under Natanleod in...

 parish and the Bartley Water

Bartley Water

Bartley Water is a stream and river going through the New Forest district of Hampshire, England.It runs from Bartley to Eling where it becomes tidal and flows out into Southampton Water which goes to the Solent....

, to the north by the A326 road and Totton and Eling

Totton and Eling

Totton and Eling is a town and civil parish in Hampshire, UK, with a population of around 28,000 people. It is situated on the eastern edge of the New Forest and on the River Test, close to the city of Southampton and part of the city's urban area...

, and to the south by Denny Lodge

Denny Lodge

Denny Lodge is a civil parish in the New Forest in Hampshire, England. It covers a large area of heathland and woodland encompassing much of the eastern side of the New Forest, but contains no towns, villages, churches, or schools.-Overview:...

 parish in the New Forest.

Ashurst is close to the City of Southampton

Southampton

Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...

 and is often considered an exurb of it, a large percentage of its population being commuters.

Millvina Dean

Millvina Dean

Elizabeth Gladys Millvina Dean was the last remaining survivor of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, which occurred on 15 April 1912. At 2 months and 13 days of age, she was also the youngest passenger on board the ship....

, the last survivor of the sinking of RMS Titanic, was living in Ashurt at the time of her death in May 2009 at the age of 97.

Pubs

There are three pubs called 'The Happy Cheese', 'The Forest Inn' and 'The New Forest Hotel'. There used to be a pub by the name of the Angry cheese, The Angry Cheese was opposite the Happy cheese, on the other side of the road, but this was destroyed by a fire sometime before 1989. The Forest Inn closed in June 2010 after the business went into liquidation. It reopened on 12 November 2010 under new management following total refurbishment.

Shops and Amenities

On the main high street there are five main restaurants, 'The Jumbo House' Chinese and English takeaway, the 'Little Friar' fish and chip shop, the 'Herb Pot Bistro' serving many cuisines, The 'Asha' Indian and Bangladeshi restaurant and takeaway and the 'Lite Bites' sandwich bar. There is also a vet, upholsterer, Post Office, newsagent, two hair salons, a car accessories shop and a car dealer.

Also in Ashurst is a Co-operative food store.

Education

There are two educational establishments in Ashurst, Foxhills Infant School and Foxhills Junior School. Foxhills Infant School teaches pupils between the ages of four and seven and as of May 2011 had in total 210 pupils on roll. It shares its grounds with Foxhills Junior School, where many of the Infant School pupils progress onto. The Junior School was opened as a middle school in September 1977 when the buildings and facilities of the original Junior School, which had been established ten years previously, were substantially enlarged and extended to provide for the 8-12 middle school age range. In 1993, it became a Junior School once again taking in children aged between 7 and 11. The school had around 332 children on roll in September 2010 and the current Headteacher is Mike Espezel. The majority of pupils come from the neighbouring Foxhills Infants School, Eling Infants School or Hazelwood First School. In its most recent Ofsted inspection report in 2010, it received a Grade 2 (good).

Both schools enjoy a 16 acre site with large playgrounds and lots of resources, including a 6 acre nature reserve with a pond. The reserve, during the last few years, has benefited from a £22K grant from the Millennium Heritage Fund which allowed construction paths and access routes for all year round use. The whole school building area is protected by CCTV and a private patrol company.

Also on the same site is Ashurst Pre-School that currently takes 86 children from two years nine months to five years on roll.

Transport Links

Ashurst is well served by transport links, the largest being the Ashurst railway station

Ashurst New Forest railway station

Ashurst railway station is a railway station serving the village of Ashurst in Hampshire, England. It is located on the South Western Main Line from London Waterloo to Weymouth.-History:...

, run by South West Trains. The line runs from London Waterloo to Weymouth. Ashurst is also on the Bluestar

Bluestar (bus company)

Bluestar is a trading name of Solent Blue Line Ltd. Based in Eastleigh, the company operates bus routes in Hampshire that previously traded under the Solent Blue Line name. Blue Line was started by bus company Southern Vectis as it sought to expand from the Isle of Wight in 1987...

6 Bus Route (recently replacing the Wilts and Dorset's 56/56A route) that runs from Lymington - Southampton.

External links

• Ashurst and Colbury Parish Council
• New Forest Community Media - A not-for-profit media site serving the National Park
• Foxhills Infant School
• Foxhills Junior School