Rufus Stone

A modest cast-iron monument, roughly waist-to-chest height and dark with age, standing beneath an oak in a quiet clearing of woodland and grass. The Victorian-era casting covers an earlier 18th-century stone marker, and its inscribed panels tell the story in plain, formal language. It reads more like a roadside milestone than a grand memorial, so set your expectations accordingly and give the inscription a proper read.

The inscription records that on 2 August 1100, an arrow loosed by Sir Walter Tyrrell at a stag glanced off an oak and struck King William II, known as Rufus, killing him on this spot. Treat it as reputed rather than proven: this is the believed site of a hunting accident, and some historians argue the death happened closer to Beaulieu. That uncertainty is part of the appeal, since you are standing in the middle of a nine-hundred-year-old argument.

This is a quick stop, not a half-day outing. Given the very short walk from the car park, it works best combined with a longer New Forest drive or walk, or paired with a picnic in the clearing if the weather cooperates. Come for the history and the atmosphere of the surrounding woodland rather than the monument itself, and you will leave happy.