Cicerone Walking In The New Forest

Cicerone - Walking In The New Forest

Thanks to William the Conqueror, who set it aside as a royal hunting ground in 1079, the New Forest has been protected by ancient laws for over 900 years. Situated in Hampshire on the south coast of England, it was given National Park status in 2005, helping to further conserve its captivating landscape.

It is Britain’s smallest national park but offers a wide range of terrain to suit the taste of every walker - ancient woodland, empty heather-clad heath, captivating coastline and many streams and rivers.

The 30 walks in this guidebook use well-defined tracks and paths to visit interesting historic sites, colourful gardens and picture-postcard villages. They cover all areas of the New Forest National Park and can be shortened or lengthened to suit walkers of all abilities.

• 30 walks from 3 to 10 miles, suitable for all the family
• alternatives, shortcuts and detours are given, while many adjacent routes can be joined for full-day walks
• clear route descriptions with detailed 1:25,000 OS map extracts and colour photographs

Seasons
any time of the year; spring brings new life into the forest, summers are mild and the ground is usually dry although this is peak tourist season, autumn brings vivid displays of colour and good clear days, winter has shorter days with the least number of visitors, but some routes can become wet underfoot

Centres
Brockenhurst, Lyndhurst, Lymington, Ringwood, Fordingbridge

Difficulty
walks between 3 and 10 miles; terrain fairly flat; paths range from good gravel tracks to narrow paths over open heath; some stream crossings without bridges, though these should not pose any difficulties unless there has been heavy rainfall; navigation straightforward with care sometimes required on indistinct paths over open heath, or through woods

Must See
walks in forests, ancient and ornamental woods, open heaths, rivers and coastal stretches; historic churches and ancient sites; New Forest ponies to deer, birds, plants and all six native reptiles; the largest remaining area of lowland heath in Europe