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Lyndhurst is widely regarded as the 'capital' of the New Forest (except in Ringwood, that is). It is home to both, New Forest District Council, at the bottom of the town, and the Court of Verderers in Queen's House at the top of the town.
Unlike Burley, which has entirely given itself over to tourists, or Brokenhurst, with its almost paranoid dislike of them, Lyndhurst manages to strike a comfortable balance; welcoming the visitors, but not being overwhelmed by them. Apart from the traffic.
The traffic in summer can be horrific. On busy summer Saturdays, it is not unusual for the queue to get into the town from the A337 southbound to stretch halfway back to Cadnam. Even in winter, the constant stream of vehicles passing through the town spoils what would otherwise be a charming High Street.
Yes, one can understand the objections to putting a new road through a sensitive area like the New Forest, but I can help feeling that that would be a less bad solution than the damage the current set up is doing to an otherwise charming town.
In 2008 Lyndhurst Parish Council revived a proposal for a bypass originally made back in 1983, but met with little success.
Don't miss the grave of Alice Liddell (the Alice of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland) in the churchyard.
It seems incredible in these more liberated times, that after her marriage in 1880 she should lose not only her surname but also her first, and be buried as Mrs Reginald Hargreaves.