Best time to go
Early mornings and quieter weekdays give the calmest stop; summer weekends can be busier and the small car park fills. Come in daylight to actually see the woodland and water.
Overview
About Puttles Bridge
Why stop
- Pleasant woodland stream scenery
- Easy link into a short riverside walk
Heads up
- Small car park fills on busy summer days
- Wet ground and a moderate riverbank slope after rain
The appeal is quiet stream scenery within a few steps of the car. Mature trees close in over dark, moving water, and the banks open into grassy edges that suit a short sit or a picnic. It works best as a brief pause or as the start of a gentle walk rather than a destination in itself.
Parkwolf’s verdictWhy stopMap
Where it is
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Full mapPlan your stop
Before you go
Best time to go
Water rules
1 active New Forest alert
- CautionNew Forest outdoor-fire restrictionDo not use BBQs, campfires, stoves, outdoor camping equipment or other naked flames on the open Forest.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
New Forest Tour Guide
Your drive to Puttles Bridge, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for New Forest National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this area
Whitefield Moor and Ober Water0:00 / 0:29
“You're approaching Whitefield Moor, where open heath meets the wooded banks of Ober Water. This is a good place to stop for a picnic and a short walk, with room to spread out near the car park.”
Plays on the road 0.4 km from Puttles Bridge in the Parkwolf New Forest Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Snake You Rarely See
- Blackwater Arboretum and Tall Trees
- Brockenhurst the Hospital Village
- Wilverley Plain
- 283 audio storiesacross New Forest’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Red Deer, White-tailed Eagle, Harbor Seal, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 70 trails, 48 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
More about Puttles Bridge
What it isA named road bridge where Rhinefield Road crosses Ober Water, just outside Brockenhurst.
A named road bridge where Rhinefield Road crosses Ober Water, just outside Brockenhurst. It is a small, everyday crossing rather than a landmark, but the setting is lovely: a stream running through mature woodland with grassy banks.
Walking from hereThe bridge sits on the marked Ober Water riverside route, whose circular walks are signed from…
The bridge sits on the marked Ober Water riverside route, whose circular walks are signed from Whitefield Moor nearby. The yellow route is 1.6 km (1 mile), around 25 minutes; the red route is 2.4 km (1.5 miles), around 40 minutes. Surfaces are gravel and compacted grass with gentle slopes, and the route also crosses wooden footbridges over the stream, which are separate from this road bridge.
Access and what to bringPuttles Bridge car park is a small parking area close to the bridge, with about 20 spaces.
- Puttles Bridge car park is a small parking area close to the bridge, with about 20 spaces.
- There are no toilets and no accessible bays here. Whitefield Moor, a short distance away, has toilets and accessible bays and is the signed start for the riverside walk.
- Bring sturdy footwear; parts of the route become muddy after wet weather, and a moderate gradient leads down to the river and back up.
- Pushchairs can usually manage the main path, though sections beside the water are rougher.
Wildlife and etiquetteWatch for kingfishers along the stream, woodpeckers in the woodland and red deer out on the…
Watch for kingfishers along the stream, woodpeckers in the woodland and red deer out on the heath, and expect free-roaming animals in the area. Keep your distance and never feed or pet the animals.
Honest drawbacksLimited parking, no facilities at the bridge, and wet, slippery ground after rain are the main…
Limited parking, no facilities at the bridge, and wet, slippery ground after rain are the main catches. If you want toilets or an easier start, begin at Whitefield Moor instead and reach the bridge on foot.
Wildlife
Wildlife in New Forest
28 sightingsRed DeerMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
10 sightingsWhite-tailed EagleMost seen around 10 AMSighting map
14 sightingsHarbor SealMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
176 sightingsEuropean Fallow DeerMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
93 sightingsWestern Roe DeerMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
54 sightingsMute SwanMost seen around 6 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across New Forest. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
