Wildlife Walks

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The New Forest is a living and working place where ponies, donkeys and cattle freely graze the land and help to keep the patchwork of different habitats intact. Deeper in the forest, wild deer stroll beneath canopies of mighty oak and beech, natural scenes unchanged by the modern world.

Around the third week in September you can usually find the pigs who have been let out for Pannage roaming the forest too. Their job is to feed on the fallen acorns, something which is toxic to both cattle and ponies.

With a variety of nature reserves and vast heathland and woodlands, the forest is a haven for any bird watcher. There are around 100 species of breeding birds in The New Forest including woodpeckers, kingfishers and linnets. There is also our coastline with the various nature reserves, havens for wetland species of bird such as oystercatchers and warblers.

You are never really far from wildlife on any walk in the New Forest. In fact, the majority of walks within The New Forest will involve wildlife, it’s not really a case of if you will spot something but when!

However, here are our top three suggestions for the best wildlife walks you can do here:

Bolderwood

Park at the Bolderwood Car Park and take one of the Bolderwood trails that are on offer here. One of the main reasons people like to come to Bolderwood is to see the deer viewing platform, just a short walk from the car park. Here if you are lucky you may get to spot the wild fallow deer roaming in the fields.

From Easter to September the deer are fed here by the New Forest rangers at approximately 2pm so if you don’t see them outside of this time then you are almost guaranteed to see them then!

Extend your walk by embarking on either the Jubilee Grove Trail or the Radnor Trail as they wind their way through the forest.

The Forestry Commission have some handy interpretation on the area and the types of species you might get to see if you look or listen carefully around the car park and toilet block. There is also a visitor centre here where you can learn more about the local area and the flora and fauna that can be found here.

The Reptile Centre

Come along and learn more about Britain’s native reptile species at the Reptile Centre, near Lyndhurst. Managed by the Forestry Commission, there are two different walks you can do from the car park at the Reptile Centre; the reptile walk or the Portuguese Fireplace walk.

The reptile trail leads you past the various enclosures where if you are lucky you can spot some of Britain’s native reptile and amphibian species, including Britain’s rarest reptile, the sand lizard and our only venomous snake, the adder.

For those with younger families, it’s well worth downloading the Forestry Commission’s Reptile Discovery Trail leaflet, giving you some fun, nature-based activities to enjoy whilst visiting the Reptile Centre.

Keyhaven

Keen birders should make the walks at Keyhaven top of their agenda when visiting the New Forest. The small village is a harbour which is home to coastal grazing marshes, lagoons, former salt marshes and the nearby shingle beach of Hurst Spit.

The rough grazing marsh often floods and has become an important area for wintering birds as well as breeding waders in the summer months.

The coastal marsh area is rich in fish and encourages sandwich and little tern as well as black-headed gulls and oystercatchers. For botanists, the local specialist salt-tolerant plants to look out for among the shingle banks include the yellow-horned poppy, sea campion and sea aster.

Take a walk along the Sea Wall path and see what you can spot along the way.

Guided wildlife walks

Lookout for guided wildlife walks offered as part of the annual New Forest Walking Festival which takes place for a fortnight during October.

Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust run guided wildlife walks of some of their nature reserves throughout the year including regular family wildlife walks at Blashford Lakes, near Ringwood during school holidays.

At Lepe Country Park look out for guided nature walks with a variety of themes including butterflies and bats. Moors Valley Country Park, near Ringwood offers various fitness walks including Nordic walking.

Take Care

The New Forest National Park is a wonderful place to visit and you can help it stay that way by being a Forest friendly visitor.

Check your dog and yourself for ticks when you get back home – they can lead to Lyme Disease.

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Ashlett Creek to Calshot Spit

Fawley

This walk is great for families with young children, starting from Fawley town centre and following a pretty country lane with views over Southampton Water to the small and historic inlet of Ashlett Creek. It then passes the Jolly Sailor pub and…

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Lymington Marshes Trail

Lymington

Walk along the Quayside for river views followed by the coastal marshes of the Lymington-Keyhaven Nature Reserve. This is one of several Rail Trail routes running from Brockenhurst or Lymington railway stations.

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Blackwater: Tall Trees Trail

Brockenhurst

Stimulate your senses on this short trail around the Forestry Commission's Blackwater Arboretum, with its small but nationally important collection of trees from all over the world. Sensory information boards along the trail provide fascinating…

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Bolderwood: Radnor Trail

Once past the Radnor Stone, this trail passes through sweet chestnut, oak and beech dating from the 1860s. It then skirts the fenced boundary of Mark Ash Wood, an ancient and ornamental woodland, where you can see pollarded beech trees.

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Brook to Minstead village

Bramshaw

Visit the Rufus Stone to discover the mystery surrounding the death of King William II. The route then follows quiet country lanes to the unspoilt village of Minstead where the famous detective writer and spiritualist Sir Arthur Conon Doyle is…

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Landford and Hamptworth

Landford

This walk starts in the village of Landford and explores the northern tip of the New Forest in Wiltshire among woodlands that were once Royal Forests. The walk follows a wooded path to a river ford and through pretty woods and fields to Hamptworth…

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Whitefield Moor: Longer Loop

Brockenhurst

Starting from Whitefield Moor car park, this walk takes you further along the Ober Water than the yellow route, giving more time to soak up the beautiful scenery and atmosphere of this beautiful stream and its surroundings.

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Buckland Rings Trail

Brockenhurst

From the village of Brockenhurst this walk passes through Roydon Woods nature reserve over Setley Plain and onto Buckland Rings, the site of a former Iron Age hill fort near Lymington.

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Blackwater: Tall Trees Arboretum Link

Brockenhurst

This is an easy walk through woodland, passing through the Arboretum which houses a beautiful collection of trees from many countries. The walk passes Scrag Hill Nursery and ends with a stroll down a short section of the Tall Trees Trail.

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Brockenhurst Village Walk

Brockenhurst

Brockenhurst is a picturesque village in the heart of the New Forest surrounded by some of the loveliest Forest landscapes. Starting from the village with its famous watersplash, this varied walk takes you across grazed lawns and through riverside…

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Bolderwood: Deer Watch Trail

This short stroll from Bolderwood car park leads you to a deer viewing platform overlooking fields where wild herds of fallow deer are regularly seen. From Easter to mid-September the herd is fed daily by one of the Forestry Commission keepers.

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Whitefield Moor: Shorter Loop

Brockenhurst

Starting from Whitefield Moor car park, this walk passes along gravel tracks through a variety of habitats around Ober Water - including heathland with gorse and bog, grassland, natural and formerly enclosed woodland, and Ober Water stream itself.

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Exbury village and Lepe

Situated on the southern edge of the New Forest and a mile from the Solent coast, Exbury is a peaceful and beautiful village with a fascinating history and important war time links to Lepe and the build up to D-Day. The walk starts at the famous…

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Keyhaven

1.9 Miles

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Keyhaven Marshes

Milford on Sea

Along the route there are views across the Solent to the Isle of Wight and the Needles and opportunities to watch the ever-changing bird life of Keyhaven Marshes. The path then cuts inland to follow an ancient highway behind the reserve before…

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Reptile Centre

1.4 Miles or 1.1 Miles
The reptile pits are easy to view for small children and from a wheelchair. Best visited on a warm summer day when the reptiles are more active.
To access the route details click the website link above.
To access the route…

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Ashurst stroll

SOUTHAMPTON

From Ashurst railway station this short and easy walk explores a variety of landscapes that characterise the New Forest. The route first takes you past open Forest lawns where ponies graze and through Churchplace Inclosure, a timber plantation,…

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Blackwater: Heartwood Trail

Brockenhurst

An easy waymarked walk through the Arboretum to experience the woodland and take in the variety of tree species. There are regular seats with backs to rest on along this route.

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Bolderwood: Jubilee Grove Trail

Starting from Bolderwood car park this meandering route leads you past the deer fields and some majestic trees, the oldest of which date back to 1860. Unfortunately a large number of trees were lost in the Great Storms of 1987 and 1991, but many new…

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