About the Author Steve Davison is a writer and photographer who has written several walk- WALKING IN THE NEW FOREST ing guides. He has also written for a number of outdoor magazines and other publications, including local and national newspapers, specialising in hill walking and European travel, with interests in nature, geology and 30 WALKS IN THE NATIONAL PARK the countryside. A keen hill walker for many years and a Mountain Leader, Steve has also worked as a part-time outdoor education instructor. He is by Steve Davison also a member of the Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild. Find out more about him out at www.steve-davison.co.uk. Other Cicerone guides by the author The Great Stones Way The Kennet and Avon Canal The Ridgeway National Trail Walking in the Chilterns Walking in the North Wessex Downs Walking in the Thames Valley JUNIPER HOUSE, MURLEY MOSS, OXENHOLME ROAD, KENDAL, CUMBRIA LA9 7RL www.cicerone.co.uk © Steve Davison 2020 CONTENTS Second edition 2020 ISBN: 978 1 85284 877 4 Map key ...................................................... 6 First edition 2012 Overview map ................................................. 7 Printed in China on responsibly sourced paper on behalf of Latitude Press Ltd INTRODUCTION .............................................. 9 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Plants and wildlife ............................................. 10 Geology ..................................................... 14 History of the New Forest ........................................ 15 © Crown copyright 2020 OS PU100012932 Walking in the New Forest ....................................... 17 All photographs are by the author unless otherwise stated. Getting to the New Forest ........................................ 18 Getting around the New Forest .................................... 19 Food and drink ................................................ 19 Where to stay ................................................. 20 Countryside codes ............................................. 20 Updates to this Guide Your safety ................................................... 21 Access and rights of way. 22 While every effort is made by our authors to ensure the accuracy of The New Forest online .......................................... 22 guidebooks as they go to print, changes can occur during the lifetime of an Longer walks and long-distance routes .............................. 22 edition. Any updates that we know of for this guide will be on the Cicerone Maps ....................................................... 23 website (www.cicerone.co.uk/877/updates), so please check before Using this guide ............................................... 24 planning your trip. We also advise that you check information about such things as transport, accommodation and shops locally. Even rights of way Walk 1 Langley Wood and Hamptworth .......................... 25 can be altered over time. We are always grateful for information about any Walk 2 Godshill and Castle Hill ................................ 30 discrepancies between a guidebook and the facts on the ground, sent by Walk 3 Hatchet Green and Woodgreen ........................... 36 email to [email protected] or by post to Cicerone, Juniper House, Walk 4 Bramshaw Telegraph and Eyeworth Pond ................... 42 Murley Moss, Oxenholme Road, Kendal, LA9 7RL. Walk 5 Bramshaw Church and Nomansland ....................... 48 Register your book: To sign up to receive free updates, special offers Walk 6 Abbots Well and Alderhill Inclosure ....................... 54 and GPX files where available, register your book at www.cicerone.co.uk. Walk 7 Fritham and Cadman’s Pool .............................. 60 Walk 8 Janesmoor Pond and the Rufus Stone ...................... 65 Walk 9 High Corner Inn and Ogden’s Purlieu ...................... 71 Walk 10 Appleslade Bottom to Rockford via Ibsley Common ........... 76 Walk 11 Castle Piece and Linford Brook ........................... 83 Walk 12 Exploring Bolderwood .................................. 87 Walk 13 Minstead and Furzey Gardens ............................ 92 Walk 14 Portuguese Fireplace and the Knightwood Oak ............... 99 Walk 15 Bank and Gritnam .................................... 104 Walk 16 Ober Water and Blackwater Arboretum .................... 107 Walk 17 Holmsley Walk and Burley ............................. 114 Front cover: Looking towards Hampton Ridge from Windmill Hill (Walk 6) Walk 18 Wilverley Inclosure and Castleman’s Corkscrew ............. 119 OVERVIEW MAP Walk 19 Lyndhurst and Bolton’s Bench ........................... 125 Walk 20 Ashurst figure-of-eight ................................. 131 A32 eham t Walk 21 Beaulieu Road and Bishop’s Dyke ........................ 138 r n e l Fa Walk 22 King’s Hat, Dibden Bottom and the Beaulieu River ........... 145 o Newport A27 S Walk 23 Stubby Copse Inclosure and Balmer Lawn .................. 150 e M27 h Walk 24 Brockenhurst and Dilton ............................... 155 T Walk 25 Hatchet Pond and Hawkhill Inclosure ..................... 163 Eastleigh M3 ISLE OF WIGHT 30 Walk 26 Beaulieu River from Beaulieu to Buckler’s Hard ............. 168 Cowes Walk 27 Setley Common and Boldre Church ...................... 174 A3054 WAY SOLENT Walk 28 Exploring the coastline from Lymington to Keyhaven .......... 180 Southampton A3090 Walk 29 Milford on Sea and Hurst Castle ......................... 186 26 Hythe Winchester Walk 30 Lepe and Exbury ..................................... 192 22 Romsey armouth 21 A326 Y 7 5 25 0 3 Appendix A A Route summary table .............................. 198 ymington Appendix B L Useful contact information .......................... 201 20 28 Appendix C 24 Glossary ........................................ 204 19 23 A27 Brockenhurst M27 29 27 Lyndhurst Appendix D Bibliography ..................................... 206 M271 A337 15 13 14 16 A35 5 8 Milford on Sea Route symbols on OS map extracts Features on the overview map 18 ch 12 r (for OS legend see printed OS maps) 7 County/Unitary boundary 4 1 17 Urban area A36 A31 route NEW 9 3 n o v FOREST National Park Christchu A 2 R 11 alternative route 6 10 Forest Park/National Forest Ringwood adjacent route Salisbury A338 Area of Outstanding Natural start/finish point Beauty/National Scenic Area A388 alternative start/finish point 400m 200m PATH AVON Wilton VALLEY VALLEY 75m Bournemouth route direction Ferndown 0m Fordingbridge A354 km ne Poole r 10 A30 Minster Wimbo N Handley Sixpenny 0 A35 Overview map Overview A31 7 WALKING IN THE NEW FOREST INTRODUCTION The New Forest, or the Nova Foresta on offer, including 42km (26 miles) of as it was known in the Domesday coastline, the largest area of lowland Book, is a unique and captivating heath in Britain and three-quarters of landscape of open heath and ancient the valley mires in north-west Europe, woodland tucked into south-west as well as picture-postcard thatched Hampshire and south-east Wiltshire. cottages, ancient churches and cosy ‘Created’ by William the Conqueror in pubs. And all this located within 1079 as a royal hunting ground, the Britain’s smallest national park, cov- New Forest has, for the last 900 years, ering just 570 square kilometres (220 owed its very existence to the influ- square miles). ence of man and his animals. The New Forest may not be a To many, a key feature of the very hilly landscape and there are New Forest’s natural beauty is the no sweeping mountain views, but a ancient and ornamental woods, and walk in the Forest takes you into a part here can be found the greatest con- of southern Britain that William the centration of ‘veteran’ trees in western Conqueror would probably still rec- Europe. However, there is much more ognise. Couple that with the fleeting Heading south through Bramshaw Inclosure (Walk 5) Passing8 trees on Holm Hill (Walk 16) 9 WALKING IN THE NEW FOREST PLANTS AND WILDLIFE glimpses of wildlife – a deer suddenly native trees ranging from the conif- being eaten, it forms a vital part of the the summer with larger reddish-pur- stops to look before magically disap- erous English yew and Scots pine to New Forest pony’s diet, especially in ple flowers; the pink-flowered cross- pearing in the blink of an eye, bird- broadleaved species such as the com- winter, when other food is scarce. leaved heath (Erica tetralix), which song mingles with the rustle of the mon oak, beech and silver birch. Another widespread plant is com- prefers damper sites; and the much wind in the trees, wildflowers add A more exotic tree is the wel- mon heather (Calluna vulgaris), also rarer Dorset heath (Erica ciliaris). splashes of colour to the beauty of the lingtonia, or giant sequoia, found known as ling, which creates a colour- Common cotton grass enchanting woods, the commoners’ along Rhinefield Drive (Walk 16). At a ful pale purple carpet across the open (Eriophorum angustifolium), known stock grazes the land as it has done for height of 55m (180ft), these may take forest in late summer. Three other spe- locally as bog cotton, grows in the centuries – and you have all the ingre- the title of the tallest trees in the Forest; cies of heather grow in the Forest: bell wetland areas, particularly valley dients that make walking in the New however, it is the native oaks, such as heather (Erica cinerea), which thrives mires. It is easily recognised by its Forest National Park such a unique the Knightwood Oak (Walk 14), that on acid heathland, blooms earlier in characteristic