Three Ponds

Date: 7 March 2009

Distance: 5 miles approx
Parking: New Forest Car Park - Janesmoor Plain
Map: Explorer OL22
Map ref for car park: SU246135

There is a big area to choose from for parking here. Wherever you choose to park take your starting point from the pond, facing south with the pond to your right. From here walk along the lawn following the line of the fence left until a T-junction. Cross the road and head west with the road to your left. The walking is excellent along gorse-studded lawns with Inclosures to your right. Keep straight on as much as you wish to until Cadman's Pool.

From the car park, go through the barrier at the back. Today, there was a grey tree trunk to step over. Walk down through the leave-strewn woodland being careful of hidden tree roots until a clear path running east to west is reached. Turn left and continue until the path comes to a fork with paths going to left and right. The paths become quite indistinct here in places. Keep going downhill until another clear path again running east to west and turn again left. Follow this path into trees where it is no longer clear and turn right to the river. Find a place to ford and cross.

A vague path runs up towards a small woodland. The path widens into a clear wide grass path which skirts the woodland, running between the trees on the left and holly bushes and gorse on the right. Keep along this path, which may be muddy in places, and continue uphill until you come out of the trees.

Look to your left for the panorama over Rakes Brakes Bottom. The path ahead forks, take the right fork. Keep following this clear, grass path up to Green Pond. From here, turn right and take the path that runs past two wells about 50 yards apart. Walk down into trees and keep along until you reach houses and a footpath sign.

Turn right along the driveway that goes down to more houses, then a barrier and out on to forest lawn again. Cross the footbridge ahead. From here choose to turn right and go up through the Inclosure or go straight ahead along a footpath, which is actually a cow track. The latter is churned underfoot at best in dry weather; after rain it will be a quagmire. However, this is the way I walked today. For an alternative route, please consult the map.

Follow the path along until it emerges again on Janesmoor Plain on the west side of the road. The path becomes concrete and follows a V-shape to the road.

Cross the road and the car park at Janesmoor Pond is immediately ahead.

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Busketts Lawn

Date: 7 March 2009

Distance: 5 1/4 miles
Parking: New Forest Car Park Busketts Lawn
Map: Explorer OL22 New Forest
Map ref for car park: SU312112

From the car park return to the barrier to the private road and turn along this. Where the gravel path turns towards the driveway of a house continue ahead on the indistinct path through the trees alongside the fence. Soon come to more houses and fence and turn right towards a gate.

Go right through the gate and continue along this path to its end at a road. This track can be muddy for the first 200 or so yards. There is a narrow footpath that winds through the trees to the left. Be aware of large pools that come close to this footpath. The footpath later comes out on to the main bridleway which becomes more passable at this point.

At the end of the path, turn left on to the road and continue until a sharp bend left. On the right side of the road is a path going off with a roadsign "Rossiters Lane". Go on to the path and then immediately left: this is Rossiters Lane. It can be very muddy with brambles but gets better further along beside a small stream on the right. Keep along until the road.

Turn right along the road and look for a wooden footpath sign on the right. Go over the stile and follow the path round. Today the path was clear but there is a warning in Norman Henderson's book "A Walk Around the New Forest" that this can become choked with nettles. A river runs parallel to the path after a while and the path itself narrows to pass around some paddocks and stables. There is no fence between the path and the river, so take care with children.

Over the stile at the other end and turn right on to the road. Take the second street turning on the left into a Close. On the left hand side near a scrubby copse is a footpath sign. Turn along this. Go over the stile on to a broad greenway and keep along this until the path ahead becomes tarmac and a dirt track goes right across a field. Just inside the hedge is a footpath sign pointing two ways, back the way you have come and along the field edge inside the fence. Continue along, over a stile and into a copse. A clear path winds through the copse alongside a river on the left. Be aware that this copse forms part of a grazing area for domestic horses and it opens out on to a tree-lined narrow field. This runs up to the next stile and the road.

Turn right along the road and continue along all the way down past farms and houses and woodland until Woodlands Road, which runs down from Bartley to Ashurst.

Cross here and straight through the gate on the other side of the road into Busketts Lawn Inclosure. Keep along the cycle track and at the T-junction with another cycle track turn right. Go over the footbridge. The ford is very deep on the further side.

Where the path divides, take the left path which continues in a straight line for some way. Ignore all paths to right and left and where another cycle track crosses ahead, continue straight over up to a gate. Through the gate do not turn immediately right to the lawn (although you can if you wish to as it goes straight up to the cricket ground and the car park), but follow an indistinct path through the trees ahead and a little right until a lawn is reached.

A stream skirts the trees to the left and another runs across the lawn across your path. Turn right here and follow the stream up to the cricket ground and round to the right here to a barrier and return to the car park.

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Shave Hat

Date: 28 February 2009

Distance: Approx. 2 - 3 miles
Parking: New Forest Car Park Shave Hat
Map: Explorer OL22
Map ref for car park: SU293122

Go straight out of the back of the car park and follow indistinct path leading up through trees northward. Keep ahead ignoring any paths to right or left until the stream is reached. This area can be boggy and other rivulets run across the path. Find the way across then keep heading north along a more clearly defined way. Shave Hat opens ahead, a lawn area ringed with trees.

Cross to the line of trees at the north end of Shave Hat and turn left with the trees on your right until a fenced area is reached. Turn right with the fence on your left and continue ahead on a wide grass path to a cross-paths on a slight rise. Turn left here through the gate.

Follow the well-laid out path ahead and round to the left. Continue straight ahead until the main path bends sharp right. There is a grass path leading away to the left at this corner up to a gate. Go through the gate and find the indistinct path around Clay Hill which comes down to the road opposite Hazel Hill car park.

Turn left along the road, which comes all the way back to Shave Wood car park. Along the road, there is a lawned area if you prefer to walk off the road for a little way; and just before the car park is reached a path leads off the road left across a glade.


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