Parking
Start at the Parish Church in Market Place. Ringwood’s Furlong Car Park offers long- and short-stay town-centre parking; walk from there into Market Place.
Overview
About Ringwood, Crow and Kingston
Why go
- Links Ringwood’s market town with an old railway path and the Avon Valley Path.
- A shorter loop has a longer Kingston Common option.
Heads up
- Steps, a stile and multiple road crossings interrupt the route.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the New Forest map
Full mapElevation12–21 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 Ringwood, Crow and Kingston, 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
The Rabbit Mounds of Rockford0:00 / 0:26
“On Rockford Common, some long, low bumps in the heath were deliberately made for rabbits. They are pillow mounds, part of medieval warrens where rabbits were kept for meat and fur.”
Plays on the road 2.2 km from the trailhead in the Parkwolf New Forest Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- An Otter Was Here
- The Heron That Vanishes in Reeds
- What the Huff Duff Heard
- A Sawbill at Blashford
- 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 Ringwood, Crow and Kingston
A town-to-country loopThis 4.5-mile circuit starts and ends at Ringwood’s Parish Church in Market Place.
This 4.5-mile circuit starts and ends at Ringwood’s Parish Church in Market Place. It leaves town streets for the Castleman Trailway, crosses the Crowfields area to Oaklands, then returns by the Avon Valley Path. This entry follows the shorter of two described circuits; the longer, roughly 5.5-mile option turns at Oaklands and circles Kingston Common before returning.
Route and effortThe route changes from town pavements to paths, a field crossing and a gravel track.
The route changes from town pavements to paths, a field crossing and a gravel track. Expect steps off Hightown Road, a stile before the old railway line, and several road crossings. The low route sits roughly 12–21 metres above sea level; allow about 2–2.5 hours with crossings and short pauses. It is an easy outing for walkers comfortable with a stile and steps, but it is not step-free.
Starting outBegin at the Parish Church in Market Place.
Begin at the Parish Church in Market Place. Ringwood’s Furlong Car Park has long- and short-stay parking; walk into Market Place for the start. Ringwood’s market charter dates to 1226, and the Avon Valley Path links the town with a much longer route between Christchurch and Salisbury. Dogs may use the public paths; keep them under control, stay on the path through the field, and follow local signs or lead rules around livestock and wildlife.
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.
