Parking
Begin at Anderwood car park, the named starting point for this circuit.
Overview
About Anderwood Walk
Why go
- Heath, woodland and a stream on one short circuit.
- Free-roaming ponies are a likely sight.
Heads up
- Local paths are not waymarked, so navigation relies on your map.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the New Forest map
Full mapElevation28–60 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
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 Anderwood Walk, 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 trailhead
Anderwood Picnic Area0:00 / 0:23
“Up ahead is Anderwood Picnic Area, a grassy clearing with tables among the trees. The woodland gives it a little shelter from the wind, making this a comfortable picnic stop on a breezy day.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf New Forest Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- When Giant Trees Were New
- Knightwood Oak
- The Cross Before D-Day
- Blackwater Arboretum and Tall Trees
- 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!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Anderwood Walk
A compact forest loopAnderwood Walk is a 3.
Anderwood Walk is a 3.1-mile circular route from Anderwood car park, mostly on gravel tracks through heathland and woodland, with a stream along the way. Allow about 1.5 hours; it’s rated moderate. It’s a good fit when you want a short walk with open ground and trees in the same outing.
Heath, woods and a streamThe route moves from open heath into woodland, staying on gravel tracks.
The route moves from open heath into woodland, staying on gravel tracks. The stream adds a change of scene, and free-roaming ponies are a likely sight nearby. Trails at Anderwood aren’t waymarked, so keep the loop open on your map and check turns instead of expecting signs.
Dogs and practicalitiesDogs can come. Keep them close and don’t let them approach or chase ponies or other wildlife.
Dogs can come. Keep them close and don’t let them approach or chase ponies or other wildlife. Stay on the main tracks across the heath, especially March through August, when ground-nesting birds are nesting, and keep dogs on a lead in car parks and beside roads. No café or drinking-water point is listed at the start or along the walk, so bring what you need.
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.
