The New Forest boasts picturesque views, particularly on its coastline, across the Solent to the Isle of Wight. When the sun is setting, this beauty is especially prominent, providing the area with incredible evening views. These are some places in the New Forest that offer particularly beautiful views of the sunset. 
Highcliffe Beach
This stunning beach, located in Highcliffe near Christchurch, offers a wonderful, dramatic view out to sea and over to the Isle of Wight. A good place in this area to get an excellent view of the sunset is on the cliffs above the beach near Highcliffe Castle – you can park behind the castle or take the steps up from the beach.
Milford Beach
Milford Beach is a gorgeous sandy beach with fantastic vantage points and spectacular panoramas of the Isle of Wight, The Needles, and the Solent. A popular location for swimming and paddleboarding, the beach also offers a wonderful sunset view looking out on the Isle of Wight in the distance. The sky here is often very vibrant while the sun is setting, making for a uniquely beautiful landscape.
Hordle Cliffs
Located just a short walk from Milford Beach, these cliffs offer a coastal path walk with an unobstructed, extraordinary view. Facing southwest across the Solent, you can often see the Isle of Wight in the distance. The beach below is lined with its famous beach huts, which add to the uniqueness of this area’s view and look particularly striking as the sun is setting.
Mudeford Sandbank
This unique sand spit serves as a barrier between Christchurch Harbour and the sea, making for an excellent place to view the coast. Mudeford Sandbank is renowned for having some of the best views in the area, and this is particularly true for the views at sunset. While the sun sets, you can often see wading birds foraging in the mudflats as the tide is going out.
Hengistbury Head
Very close to Mudeford Sandbank, this headland boasts tranquil coastal views of the beaches below. There is a popular circular walking trail around the headland, which offers some incredible panoramic views, making it a fantastic place to watch the sun setting.
Lymington Sea Wall
A picturesque coastal walk that spans about four miles, the sea wall provides some fantastic spots to watch the sun setting. The route is home to the marshes reserve, a prime wildlife observation spot, so you may be able to capture a photo of some of its inhabiting sea birds or marsh ponies against the beautiful backdrop of the sunset.
Barton on Sea
This coastal village offers dramatic scenery and an unobstructed view of the coastline over the cliffs, making it the perfect place to watch the sunset. The village boasts several fantastic coastal walks from which you can observe the beautiful views clearly. Down on the beach, you can get an incredible view over the water, with vibrant beach huts and the coastline’s distinctive, dramatic clay cliffs surrounding.
New Forest sunset views, particularly those along the coast, are truly something to behold. These are some of the best locations for photography or simply just to observe the natural beauty of the New Forest’s coastline.
Here at New Forest Escapes, we have a whole collection of close to the coast properties in the New Forest, so you can enjoy fantastic views of the sunset over the Solent right from your garden!