Day two of our Christmas Road Trip to Dorset and Hampshire. The New Forest in Hampshire.
https://www.thenewforest.co.uk/
There are lots of waymarked walks and trails on the Forest, all starting at different car parks. Routes are circular. We started with the Wilverley Wander walk, from one of several carparks in that area. The trail winds through diverse and working woodland and was about 4.5K over gravel paths.
Next stop was the Heritage Centre, where we learnt about the Forest, it’s management and history.
https://www.newforestheritage.org.uk
Time for another walk and this was a short 0.25 mile stroll to the Knightwood Oak- one of the most famous trees in the New Forest, believed to have been planted before 1600.
There was also the much younger (1979) Queen’s Oak…
Last stop of the day- it is December and the light was fading- was the Blackwater Arboretum Trail 0.75 km, past tree species from around the world.
It was a wet, cold December day, but we discovered a winter Forest. A Forest resting. Hibernation and decay was the theme, brown and grey the predominant colours. Nevertheless beautiful in a different way- rugged and raw. We had a great day!
Lastly a big shout out to The Forest Inn at Ferndown Forest Golf Club. We had a delicious evening meal, the staff were friendly and they welcomed our three dogs. https://ferndownforestgolfcourse.co.uk/the-forest-inn#0266b56b-98c4-455b-9db1-302ef0c94eb8
Milly Space 