Reviewer: Wendy (Lymington VIC)
Jarrold Short Walks - The New Forest National Park - Walk 20 Ashurst to Beaulieu Road and Walk 12 Lepe Beach
On a sunny Sunday afternoon we decided to head out into the Forest for a walk. As I live in Lymington we had decided to amend the route slightly (walk 20 from the Jarrold Short Walks in the New Forest National Park book); therefore we started at Beaulieu Road and walked to Ashurst. Beaulieu Road is the site of the Pony Sales held here about 5 times a year.
It was not difficult for us to pick up the directions from the book, even though we hadn’t started in the correct location! The directions were very clear and easy to follow, and because the routes were accompanied by extracts from the Ordnance Survey map, the map was also very easy to follow. Unfortunately, we were so busy chatting that we weren’t properly paying attention to the directions and map, and I soon realised that we weren’t exactly where we were supposed to be! This was not too big a problem however, because we were easily able to work out where we had gone wrong as the map didn’t just show the route of the walk, but showed a slightly larger area as well.
Some of the paths were compacted gravel tracks and some were across green fields. As we arrived in Ashurst the path did get very wet (not surprising due to the recent amount of rain) and we had to pick our way through the mud. We were both wearing wellies so this was not a problem for us.
On arriving in Ashurst, we stopped off for some welcome refreshment in one of the local pubs – The Happy Cheese before making our way back to Beaulieu Road. The return route was the other side of the railway line so it was nice to have more variety and not be simply retracing our outward route. Apart from a short stretch in Ashurst the walk was not along any roads, and was purely off road.
This walk can be easily accessed by public transport. There is a regular train service to Ashurst train station, and buses regularly stop in Ashurst.
Last Winter, I also did walk number 12 which starts from Lepe Country Park. This was an equally pleasant walk, and although quite muddy underfoot provided an excellent short walk and, unless the weather is particularly poor, there are excellent views out across the Solent to the Isle of Wight.
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