Burley Manor is the ideal starting point for an enchanted journey that involves strolling through lovely forest pathways and discovering a little English village's witch shops and tearooms.

I remarked, "Excuse me," to the concierge at Burley Manor, a lovely hotel in the New Forest of southern England. There are some horses on the loose just outside on the street, but I wasn't sure who to report it to.

The only sound in the foyer was the crackling of the fireplace as everything fell into an uncomfortable silence.

She took a second, then sweetly said, "Oh, that's not an issue here, but thank you for letting me know."

I walked up the staircase to our room with my companion, Alex, and we hardly closed the door before we started laughing. Alex, a native of South Wales, spent his childhood summers in the New Forest, a fanciful location where horses may be seen strolling through the town's streets and grazing amid the trees.

Here, it's common to come across a small herd while traveling to the witch shop (yes, a witch shop), or to come across a pair waiting outside a market in the hopes of running into a customer with some extra carrots or apples. Over a pint at The Burley Inn nearby, Alex had dared me to assume the role of a gullible American tourist, and I complied, feeling motivated by my stunned response to my initial visit.

I was a genuine tourist at every turn, even though I had done a little more research on the New Forest than I let on at the time because I had never been anywhere like it. Walking trails began just a few steps from the town's main street, and the forest floor was covered in deep red leaves in the early days of December.

The New Forest, which is located in Hampshire county and spans 193,000 acres of land including a national park and six significant towns and villages, is about 80 miles from London. Although legally not wild because they belong to locals, the ponies there are free to roam and graze.

We were in Burley, a town with a long history and vivid legends including witches and smuggling. Sybil Leek, a self-described witch, first attracted attention to Burley in the 1950s before relocating to the United States and rising to fame as a psychic, astrologer, and novelist. Today, there are still several witchcraft stores throughout the town, the most well-known of which is Coven of Witches, where customers can explore spells, books, crystals, and wands.

We explored the town's quaint tea shops and antique shops after dipping our toes in some white magic, and we stopped by Burley Fudge Shop for a delicious energy boost. Our Barbour-clad golden retriever was with us when we eventually entered the misty forest, and it didn't take long for an auburn pony to emerge from the mist and stop us in our tracks. Only the four of us were present in this desolate, silent area of the globe, studying one another and taking part in the magic.

On the way back to our hotel, we saw a lot more ponies and a few donkeys relaxing in informal groups next to thatched homes that were festooned with holiday lights. Back at Burley Manor, the magic persisted as we had a bath in the room's corner clawfoot tub and sipped gin and tonics before dinner next to the picture window that overlooked the grounds. We then moved to the drawing room for dinner where we had a hearty feast of locally produced, roasted meats (think lamb shoulder and hog belly) and fresh vegetables. The dining room's rustic wood furnishings and oil paintings provided the setting.

Visitors at Burley Manor can see a lot of deer without ever leaving the property because it looks out over a deer sanctuary. The following day, however, we were graced with sunshine, so we decided to venture outside with their on-site caretaker and spent hours exploring the area, learning about the wildlife, and tracking a large stag.

Our next trip was to Sandy Balls Holiday Village in Fordingbridge, which is now owned by Away Resorts. Alex had spent the Boxing Day to New Year's Day holiday there in his family caravan back in the 1990s, so it was a special place for him. A living room, kitchen, dining area, and master bedroom with a big soaking tub were all included in the newly constructed cabin where we slept. Some apartments include hot tubs. We set out on our final nature walk of the trip after spending the previous day having old-fashioned fun at the arcade playing the 10p games, petting alpacas, and watching a Christmas pageant.

A British walk is essentially a trek by American standards, but it almost always concludes in a pub, which is something I quickly discovered about them. This time, we were going to The Horse & Groom, which was about 2.5 miles away. We would have to traverse a field of cows, jump over several cattle-barring stiles, and climb a hard slope to get there. Everything was OK until you got to the hill, where the rain-soaked muck had turned into quicksand. We finally made it out the other side after scaling the incline using vines as ropes and climbing with muddy boots as our lone casualty.

The click-clack of hoofs, which I should have anticipated but still couldn't comprehend, could be heard as we rounded the bend. As though they too had a dinner reservation in town, a family of ponies, foals, and all was making its way down the street. The same dumbfounded tourist that I had been when I arrived gasped and halted to gaze. Alex followed suit, though it's unclear if the horses or myself made him laugh more. Regardless, it was clear at that precise time that once the New Forest had its enchantment on a visitor, it never leaves, whether they have been coming for three days or 30.