We are the Winchester Ramblers. We open the way for everyone in our local community to enjoy the pleasures of walking.
It is a circular walk with 5 miles in the morning, lunch at the New Forest Inn, Ashurst and 4.5 miles in the afternoon. There is a mix of wooded areas and open countryside throughout the walk. There are no stiles (with the exception of 1 into the pub garden!) or gates and no roads to cross.
As you would expect in the Forest there are quite a few patches of mud but with the exception of a couple of areas in the afternoon, most are fairly dry (they were last week anyway!) and easily circumnavigated if necessary. To avoid disturbing ground nesting birds, we are required to walk on established tracks/paths and dogs must be kept on a lead. Because of where we will be walking, the “tick-risk” is low but it should not be ignored, particularly during “comfort” breaks.
Make sure you have plenty of water. For anybody choosing to picnic there is a large open grassed area immediately adjacent to the pub garden, mind it is very popular with the Forest’s 4-legged inhabitants, so you may spend some time finding suitable space between cow pats and pony poops!
If you intend to walk please let me know by email with lunch choice if appropriate (or if you are going have a picnic) no later than 1800hrs Wednesday 7 June. Pub lunch menus are attached.
We meet at the Matley Wood car park (SU333074) – on the east side of the B3056 Lyndhurst-Beaulieu road. It is a reasonable sized park but is very popular with dog walkers, particularly in the morning. There are no “formal” facilities but there’s plenty of wooded cover if needed.
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