From giant redwoods at Rhinefield to a wartime airfield at Holmsley, the New Forest holds far more than ponies on a B-road.
Most visitors to the New Forest slow down at a cattle grid, watch a pony cross the road, and feel they have seen it. New Forest walks reach into something older: oak pasture that has never been ploughed, a Victorian gunpowder factory pond, woodland confirmed continuous for 10,000 years, and WWII bomb stores traceable in the trees. These ten New Forest walks range from half-mile deer trails to full-day circuits through unenclosed ancient woodland.
Region: Hampshire, New Forest National Park Best for: Ancient woodland, deer watching, WWII history, Bronze Age sites, wildlife Getting there: Trains reach Brockenhurst from London Waterloo in approximately 90 minutes (nationalrail.co.uk). Most New Forest walks start from Forestry England car parks on the A35 or minor forest roads. Time needed: 2 to 4 hours per route. Allow a full day for combining two sites.
Rhinefield Ornamental Drive: Redwoods Above the Path
Rhinefield Drive was planted in 1859 as an avenue of rare imported conifers for Rhinefield House. What emerged over the following century is a canopy of giant redwoods up to 50 metres high, including the two tallest trees in the New Forest. The walk extends into the adjacent Blackwater Arboretum, which holds specimen trees from around the world.
One of the more striking New Forest walks, the route moves from formal, planted grandeur into open forest, where the Rhinefield stream crosses heather moorland. The afternoon light through the redwood canopy is unlike anything else in England. A return circuit of around 2.5 miles takes in both the drive and the arboretum.
Where to Stay: The Crown Manor House Hotel is a Grade I-listed boutique hotel in Lyndhurst, the capital of the New Forest, 15 minutes by car from Rhinefield.
Worth Knowing: The Rhinefield sequoias were among the first giant redwoods planted in Britain after their introduction to Europe from California in the early 1850s, making them now approaching 170 years old.
Mark Ash Wood: 10,000 Years of Continuous Canopy
Mark Ash Wood holds peer-reviewed evidence of 10,000 years of unbroken woodland cover. Ancient oaks range from 400 to 800 years old, and botanists rate the site as carrying the richest lichen flora in lowland Western Europe, with over 250 species recorded. The same continuity makes it nationally significant for saproxylic beetles, bats, and fungi.
Among New Forest walks that reward careful navigation, Mark Ash is the most demanding. There is no formal path network, and the ground is waterlogged in autumn and winter. In spring, the floor between the ancient oaks stays open enough to walk freely, and the fallen giants are left undisturbed to decay at their own pace.
Where to Stay: Ormonde House Hotel has 19 rooms in traditional style in the centre of Lyndhurst, ten minutes by car from Mark Ash.
Worth Knowing: Mark Ash Wood was continuously managed under New Forest commoning law from at least the 13th century, which preserved its ancient structure intact while surrounding land was converted to agriculture.
Fritham and Eyeworth Pond: The Gunpowder Factory Walk
Fritham is a hamlet at the northern edge of the forest, reached by a single road, with a car park at the end and the Royal Oak pub a short walk beyond. The walk circles Eyeworth Pond, created in 1871 by damming Latchmore Brook to supply water to the Schultze Gunpowder Company, which operated here from the 1860s until 1921. An original black post box from that period still stands near the car park.
The Royal Oak dates to the 17th century, named after the oak growing opposite it. The combination of Victorian industrial history, ancient woodland, and a working pub makes this one of the most layered New Forest walks in the north of the forest.
Where to Stay: The Crown Manor House Hotel, Lyndhurst, sits twenty minutes south of Fritham.
Worth Knowing: The Schultze Gunpowder Company chose the New Forest for its combination of water supply, dense cover, and distance from populated areas, standard Victorian criteria for explosives manufacture.
Bolderwood Deer Sanctuary: Three Marked Routes
Bolderwood offers three colour-coded routes from the car park: the Deer Watch Trail (half a mile, yellow posts), the Jubilee Trail (one mile, blue), and the Radnor Trail (two miles, red). All three pass the deer viewing platform overlooking fields where fallow deer graze. From April to September, a Forestry England keeper feeds the herd daily between noon and 3pm.
Among New Forest walks, Bolderwood suits families with young children on the shorter routes, with the Radnor Trail adding woodland depth for walkers wanting more distance. The arboretum here was devastated by the great storms of 1987 and 1991, and Forestry England has been replanting it since.
Where to Stay: The Crown Manor House Hotel in Lyndhurst is 10 minutes north by car.
Worth Knowing: The New Forest holds six deer species: fallow, roe, red, sika, muntjac, and Chinese water deer, more species in a single area than anywhere else in England.
Denny Wood: Royal Hunting Ground and Dead Wood
Denny Wood is one of the quietest New Forest walks in the central forest. It is designated Ancient and Ornamental by Forestry England, managed under commoning law rather than as commercial timber. The canopy holds beech and oak over 300 years old. The walk passes Church Place, the site of a former royal hunting lodge, where the ground is still slightly raised above the surrounding forest floor.
Fallen timber throughout the wood is left undisturbed, supporting stag beetles and fungi. Fallow and roe deer move through most mornings. These are New Forest walks for those who want the forest as it functioned before national park designation, not a managed attraction but a working landscape.
Where to Stay: Ormonde House Hotel, Lyndhurst, sits close to the southeastern edge of Denny Wood parish.
Worth Knowing: Historical records from the 17th century show Denny Wood was once oak-dominant. Beech overtook it through the 19th and 20th centuries and now forms the majority of the canopy.
Burley Village Circular: Witches, Smugglers, and a Hillfort
The Burley circular climbs to Castle Hill, an Iron Age hillfort on the ridge west of the village. The surrounding area holds 23 Bronze Age barrows. The hill also appears in local dragon folklore as the site of a creature that flew each morning to Bisterne to be supplied with milk.
In the 1950s, Burley was home to Sybil Leek, a white witch who walked the village in a black cloak with a pet jackdaw called Mr Hotfoot Jackson on her shoulder. During the renovation of the Queen’s Head pub, workers found a hidden cellar with pistols and 18th-century coins, confirming the village’s connection to New Forest smugglers. Among the most historically layered New Forest walks, the Burley circular covers prehistory, folklore, and Georgian contraband in a single loop.
Where to Stay: Ormonde House Hotel, Lyndhurst, is eight miles from Burley by car.
Worth Knowing: The name Burley combines the Saxon “burgh” (fortified place) and “leah” (open clearing in a wood), pointing to a defended settlement within the forest from the early medieval period.
Highland Water Inclosure: Damselflies and Crossbills
Highland Water is part of a connected block of woodland inclosures covering 1,713 hectares. The walk follows the Highland Water stream through conifer plantation and ancient deciduous woodland. Kingfishers and grey wagtails work the stream bank. From late May through August, the current above the stones carries Beautiful Demoiselle damselflies. The conifer sections hold crossbill, firecrest, and siskin, none of which appear commonly on the open heathland New Forest walks that most guides cover.
Woodland inclosures here were first established under the New Forest Act of 1698 to grow oak timber for Royal Navy shipbuilding. The route connects to Millyford Bridge and open heathland, shifting character from managed woodland to exposed moorland mid-circuit.
Where to Stay: The Crown Manor House Hotel, Lyndhurst, is fifteen minutes west of Highland Water.
Worth Knowing: The 1,713-hectare block forms one of the largest continuous expanses of managed woodland in lowland England.
Hawkhill Inclosure: The WWII Bomb Store
Hawkhill Inclosure was first enclosed in 1870 and is primarily coniferous. During the Second World War, RAF Beaulieu operated nearby, and Hawkhill’s tree cover hid bomb storage bunkers. Ordnance was removed from storage, fitted with fuses and tail sections, then transported by trolley to the airfield for loading onto aircraft. The woodland floor still holds faint concrete remnants from that infrastructure.
In spring, the enclosure produces bluebells where light breaks through the canopy. The New Forest held twelve wartime airfields, more than any comparable area in England, positioned to give fighter and bomber cover of the Channel crossing routes. This is one of the least-known New Forest walks with genuine wartime archaeology underfoot.
Where to Stay: Ormonde House Hotel, Lyndhurst, is twenty minutes north of the Hawkhill area.
Worth Knowing: RAF Beaulieu flew missions over occupied France from 1942. The bomb preparation facility at Hawkhill was one of several forward logistics points hidden across the New Forest canopy.
Holmsley Walk: Taxiways and Old Railway
Holmsley Airfield flew Spitfires throughout the Second World War. The airfield is now Holmsley Campsite, and the original concrete taxiways and hardstandings form the campsite roads and parking bays. Among New Forest walks that begin on wartime infrastructure, this is the most intact. The route follows the former Southampton and Dorchester Railway, closed in 1935, across open heathland toward Burley.
The embankments and cuttings of the old railway remain visible through the heather. On the open heath between the disused line and Holmsley Passage Bog, the landscape shifts completely: wet ground, reed beds, and a view back to the dark treeline. These are New Forest walks where three different historical layers, Norman hunting forest, Victorian railway, and WWII airfield, occupy the same stretch of ground.
Where to Stay: The Crown Manor House Hotel, Lyndhurst, is fifteen minutes north. The on-site Holmsley Campsite suits those walking from the start.
Worth Knowing: Holmsley Airfield was expanded in 1944 in preparation for Operation Overlord, adding capacity to provide continuous fighter cover over the D-Day landing fleet.
Bishop’s Dyke and Matley Wood: A Medieval Earthwork
Bishop’s Dyke is an earthen bank and ditch winding 7.25 kilometres through the forest, up to four metres wide and one metre high. It was granted in 1213 to Peter des Roches, Bishop of Winchester, and enclosed as a deer park by 1216. By 1244, the land was functioning as a medieval cattle farm. The bank is among the most intact medieval enclosure earthworks in southern England.
The walk connects to Matley Wood, oak, beech, and holly in close combination, before emerging onto heathland near Beaulieu Road station. For New Forest walks in the east of the national park, the station offers direct train service from Brockenhurst without a car.
Where to Stay: The Crown Manor House Hotel, Lyndhurst, is two miles from Matley Wood.
Worth Knowing: The popular legend about a bishop crawling a circuit to claim land relates to John de Pontoise around 1284. The actual grant to Peter des Roches predates that story by seventy years.
Practical Tips
- Download Forestry England trail maps at forestryengland.uk before New Forest walks. Printed maps are more accurate than general mapping apps in open forests.
- Use the AllTrails app for live navigation on longer New Forest walks through Highland Water, Denny Wood, and Bishop’s Dyke where path junctions are frequent.
- New Forest ponies, cattle, and pigs during the autumn pannage season have right of way on all routes. Do not feed them, it is illegal under New Forest bylaws.
- Wear waterproof footwear on all routes. Mark Ash, Highland Water, and Bishop’s Dyke are very wet from October through April.
- The best time for deer activity on New Forest walks is early morning and after 4pm. The Bolderwood feeding session runs from noon to 3pm, April to September.
- Mobile signal is unreliable across the forest interior. Download offline maps before leaving a main road.
Responsible Visiting
The New Forest operates under commoning law unchanged since the Norman period. Stick to marked paths in the enclosures. In the Ancient and Ornamental woods, the open structure allows off-path walking, but avoid disturbing deadwood: it is critical habitat for beetles, fungi, and bats. No fires anywhere in the forest. Keep dogs under close control at all times.
Reader Q&A
Which New Forest walks are best for beginners?
Bolderwood and Rhinefield both offer short, clearly marked routes on level ground. The Bolderwood Deer Watch Trail is half a mile on a firm surface and suitable for families in dry conditions.
Are New Forest walks accessible by public transport?
Yes, for several routes. Brockenhurst station (London Waterloo line) gives access to the southern and central forest. Beaulieu Road station is the direct start for Bishop’s Dyke and Matley Wood. Northern routes like Fritham require a car.
When is the best time for New Forest walks?
Spring New Forest walks bring bluebells to Hawkhill and Highland Water. Summer gives the fullest canopy and consistent deer activity at Bolderwood. Autumn produces fungi in Mark Ash and Denny Wood. Winter strips the canopy and opens views through the ancient beech woodland.
Is the forest safe to walk in winter?
Yes. All New Forest walks in this guide are safe year-round with the right footwear. Highland Water, Mark Ash, and Bishop’s Dyke become very wet from November to March. For remote routes, tell someone your planned circuit and estimated return time.
Where to Stay
These two hotels in Lyndhurst sit at the centre of the New Forest and give access to all ten New Forest walks in this guide.
The Crown Manor House Hotel, Lyndhurst. A Grade I listed boutique hotel built on the site of a 15th-century coaching inn at the top of Lyndhurst High Street. Free parking, breakfast, real log fires, and a bar and grill with locally sourced food.
Ormonde House Hotel, Lyndhurst. Nineteen rooms with private parking and on-site dining, well placed for New Forest walks in the central and eastern forest. Within twenty minutes of every route in this guide.
The New Forest has been working land for almost a thousand years. That is the reason it still looks like this.
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