New Forest Walks; Walks from Brockenhurst

Along the way
The Parish Church of St. Nicholas, Brockenhurst Park and House, Roydon Woods Nature Reserve, Setley Plain, Castleman’s Corkscrew and South Weirs.

Ancient, Unenclosed Woodland near Cater’s Cottage and Hincheslea Bog, New Forest Heathland on Setley Plain and around Blackhamsley Hill; and Alder Carr.

The route
Distance: 9.5 kilometres (6 miles) - add a further 3 kilometres (1¾ miles) if starting the walk in Brockenhurst village centre.

Start: Brockenhurst parish church of St. Nicholas, where limited parking is available – SU305018. Terrain: Mainly on level ground, but with a small number of gentle gradients. Mostly firm underfoot, but in winter and after rain, some sections can be wet and muddy. Strong, waterproof boots are therefore recommended. Railway station: Brockenhurst – 0.75 kilometres (½ mile). Forest Holidays camp site: Hollands Wood, 1.5 kilometres (1 mile). Alternative starts: Brockenhurst village centre - car parking is available opposite the post office in Brookley Road – SU298024; by the side of a minor road where it joins the A337 close to Setley Farm – SU302003; and using limited roadside parking by the railway bridge at the start of the cycle track leading to Cater’s Cottage – SU293004.

Directions

From Brockenhurst village

1.  Go south from Brockenhurst village, along the A337 Lyndhurst-Lymington road, an 18th century        turnpike road. Cross the railway line at the level crossing and immediately turn left into Mill Lane.        After around 200 metres, as the road goes sharply left, turn right along a gravel track leading        between Mulberry Cottage and the Georgian, Reynolds Cottage.

       Continue up a gentle incline along what eventually becomes a green lane, an aged hollow-way lined        with oak, coppiced hazel, ash, elder, holly and hawthorn, leading towards Brockenhurst’s historic        parish church. Reach the church and an entrance to Brockenhurst Park on the left.

From the church

2.   Follow Church Lane straight ahead, and at the top of a further modest incline, a glance to the left        along a tree-lined avenue reveals Brockenhurst House, a 1960s construction of relatively modern        design that replaced an earlier, 18th century building. After a short distance, opposite a drive leading        to Beech Tree Cottage, turn left along a bramble-lined bridleway running beside the grounds of        Brockenhurst Park.

3.   Pass through a gate into Roydon Woods and follow        the path downhill, eventually leaving behind the        parkland on the left and entering fully into the wood.

       Reach a small stream at the bottom of the hill, and        cross at the bridge. Notice here an enormous        wood-bank of massive proportions revealed in        section on the right of the path, its exact purpose        now shrouded in the mists of time.

       Pass on the right another path leading deep into the        woods, cross another narrow stream and go uphill, through a gate with attached, a plaque stating        that ‘the reinstatement of historic management practices to this complex of heath and pasture        woodland is dedicated to the memory of Colin Tubbs’, a highly regarded local ecologist, ‘without        whose tireless efforts many such areas would have been lost forever’.

       At the top of the hill, the woodland on the left gives way to a field. Notice on the right just beyond the        summit, a large, quite deep, overgrown pit half-hidden within the wood. Traces of gravel around the        edge betray the original purpose, and the 1898 Ordnance Survey map confirms it as an old gravel pit.

4.   Almost immediately, turn right at a junction of tracks, and follow the bridleway at first gently uphill,        eventually through coniferous woodland and then beside paddocks and broad-leaved trees.

       Pass a group of buildings on the right; a number of well-spaced properties on the left; and Setley        Farm on the right. Join a tarmac road, and go left at a ‘Y’ junction - the Filly Inn is on the right here.

       Reach the busy A337, cross over, and go through a gate beside a cattle grid on the minor road        opposite.

5.   Turn left onto Setley Plain (somewhere between 90 degrees and straight ahead) to follow a wide,        grassy track skirting a large clump of gorse. To the left, an earthen bank runs parallel to the track,        whilst on clear days along here, in the distance to the left, low on the horizon, the undulating chalk        hills of the Isle of Wight can be seen; and a little further to the right, Sway Tower protrudes above the        horizon.      

       Just beyond the top of a modest incline, turn right at        a cross-road of tracks overlooking Three Beech        Bottom and the Brockenhurst-Lymington railway line.

6.   Continue along the main track as it winds across the        heath. Cross a shallow dip with, in quick        succession, multiple, quite large, earthen banks and        accompanying ditches.

       Follow the track as it swings to the right; and, shortly        after, as the track again goes right, take a left-hand
       fork through the gorse, leading downhill towards a house part-concealed in the trees beyond –        notice on the slope, another old, substantial earthen bank and ditch.

       Pass beside a roadside house and garden – Latchmoor Corner - and turn left opposite Sway Road,        along the B3055, a quite busy, minor road.

7.    Immediately cross the road, go under a railway bridge carrying the Brockenhurst-Lymington line, and        after a short distance, turn right along a well-compacted gravel cycle track leading beneath a second        railway bridge, this carrying the main line to Christchurch and beyond. Note: there is limited        alternative, roadside parking space here.

       Pass a small stock pound on the right, with beyond, a straggle of trees that has engulfed the railway        embankment that once carried Castleman’s Corkscrew, the old Brockenhurst-Hamworthy line. (To        the left is open heathland).

8.   Cross the route of the disused railway line, and        almost immediately, pass a low, Forestry        Commission vehicle barrier. Continue along a quite        wide track beside the grounds of Cater’s Cottage        with, on the left, ancient, unenclosed woodland; and        follow the track as it goes left, away from the private        land, and on over the heath.

9.   Turn right, through the gorse, at a cross road of        tracks with straight ahead, the distinctive tall, pale,        quaking grasses of Hincheslea Bog.

       Follow the track as it goes to the left, close beside the bog; with on the right, a clump of trees on a        small hillock. Again follow the track left, now through an area of alder carr flanking a narrow stream.

       Cross the stream at a bridge, go over the edge of Hincheslea Bog, and after a short distance, on        entering an area of well-spaced gorse, take a right fork leading towards a white-washed cottage -        The Weirs Cottage - and Worthys Farm, the latter named after the Worthy family who were 18th        century residents.

       Almost immediately, reach a narrow stream, walk along it to the left and, after a short distance, cross        at a single-plank bridge – or step over – and continue on towards the cottage.

10. Pass beside a low, Forestry Commission vehicle barrier; and follow the gravel track beside the        cottage, with, visible across the grassland on the left, the houses of South Weirs. Pass Laurel        Cottage and The Upper Ford on the right, and immediately after, continue straight ahead where the        main gravel track goes left.      

       After a short distance, pass Pear Tree Cottage on        the right, and go through two kissing gates in quick        succession to follow a field edge public footpath.        Leave the field through another kissing        gate, followed immediately by a conventional gate;        and skirt a group of farm buildings on the left with, to        the right, a strip of woodland bordering a stream.

       Go straight on beside the stream; cross 2 stiles; go        through a gate; cross a farm track; and go on for a        short distance alongside the stream before crossing        a stile and turning right along Burley Road.

To return to Brockenhurst and the central car park

11. Continue along the road for 0.5 kilometres (1/3 mile), turn right at the ford – The Watersplash -        into Brookley Road, and the central, village car park is on the left a short distance away.

To return to the railway station and the parish church

12. Pass a turn on the left for North Weirs; turn right off Burley Road, opposite Armstrong Lane; and        follow the narrow gravel track over the stream at a bridge, then half-left towards the village primary        school.

       Pass beside the school and 19th century Brookley Farmhouse, and reach Sway Road.

      Cross the road, turn left, and almost immediately right along a public footpath between the house        gardens. (The path is fringed with tall, overgrown hedges containing considerable amounts of        coppiced hazel. It is shown on the 1870 Ordnance Survey map, which pre-dated the houses).

       Go over a stile, cross the bottom of East Bank Road, and continue straight ahead through a kissing        gate to cross a railway footbridge overlooking Brockenhurst station. Continue straight ahead again,        through another kissing gate, and eventually beside, on the right, an overgrown, long-since disused        pit – it shows as an Old Clay Pit on the 1898 Ordnance Survey map.

       Cross a stile and turn left for a short distance along the busy A337 – great care is needed here, as        there is no footpath. Access to the railway station is straight ahead on the left.

13. To return to the church, cross the A337, take the next right turn, down Church Lane, and the church is        400 metres away.