Ashurst Stroll

Ashurst Stroll is a 2.8-mile loop from Ashurst New Forest railway station, combining open Forest lawns, two wooded settings and an old pasture-woodland track before a return beside the A35. It is a good short walk for a change of scenery and a little local history, rather than a big viewpoint hike. Allow one to two hours.

From platform two, an enclosed path runs north beside the railway for about 200 metres, with grazing lawns and ponies on the right. The route passes the village car park and The Happy Cheese, then follows gravel beside a former cricket pitch to a red-brick cottage and the gate into Churchplace Inclosure. Gravel tracks lead through mixed broad-leaved trees; established in 1810, the enclosure’s oak-and-beech woods are crossed by wide, grassy rides. After cycle posts 387 and 373, the walk returns to open ground, crosses a railway bridge and descends to post 371, then enters Ashurst Wood.

The Ashurst Wood track can be muddy. It climbs gently to a low vehicle barrier, then joins the surfaced Ashurst Lodge access road, which winds beneath ancient oaks. Where the trees open on the left, look across Longwater Lawn. Opposite a water trough and short line of wooden posts are the earth banks of a 16th-century saltpetre house. Timber from Ashurst Wood was burned here to make saltpetre, used in gunpowder and leather tanning.

The route is easy, mostly level, with a few gentle gradients. There are four gates and two A35 crossings; after the first crossing, it follows a wide footpath and cycle route beside the road for 600 metres, then crosses back at an island just beyond Ashurst campsite. That roadside section is the main drawback. Dogs are allowed, but keep them under effective control and on a lead alongside roads and in car parks. The walk starts at the station; Ashurst village has public parking, shops, pubs and cafés, though no particular parking lot or fee is specified.