Eyeworth Pond

The pond is not a natural hollow. It was created in the 1860s by the Schultze Gunpowder Company to supply water to a nearby factory. Knowing that changes how it looks: the neat shape and the quiet setting are industrial leftovers now colonised by birds and grazing stock.

• Walk the edge of the water and watch ducks and geese on the pond.
• Sit on the grass by the bank for a picnic. Bring a blanket, as there are no verified picnic tables.
• Continue on foot into the woodland if you want more than the waterside loop.
• Watch the treeline and reflections rather than rushing; most of the interest here is small and close.

New Forest ponies and cattle are likely around the pond and nearby ground. Do not feed or pet them, however tame they seem.

Bird notes from a circular route that begins and finishes at the pond include chiffchaff, willow warbler, blackcap, blackbird, robin, dunnock, nuthatch, blue tit and great tit, so the mix spans woodland residents and summer migrants.

The car park at the pond has about 15 spaces and no toilets, so plan facilities into your wider trip rather than expecting them here.

For context, routes in the surrounding area include one of about 3.8 miles, rated moderate, at roughly 1.5 to 2 hours, and another of about 4.6 km that is mostly flat but very muddy in winter.

• Waterproof boots for soft, wet ground
• Binoculars for warblers and tits in the canopy
• A rug and packed lunch if you want to eat by the water
• Water and a camera for low-light reflections

The paths get genuinely muddy in wet and winter conditions, which makes the walk around the water and the woodland continuation messier and less pleasant than the photographs suggest.