Route: Rhinefield Tall Trees Trail
Area: New Forest
Date of walk: 7th November 2014
Walkers: Andrew and Gilly
Distance: 2.5 miles
Weather: mostly sunny
We’d driven along the Rhinefield Ornamental Drive on the return from yesterday’s walk and had marvelled at the majestic trees lining the way. We resolved to return the next day for a closer look
We parked at Blackwater car park and walked across the road to the Arboretum which houses a collection of trees from around the world. This is a short walk lasting 15 minutes or so, but it’s full of interest
On leaving the Arboretum we set out to walk the waymarked Tall Trees Trail. Along the trail are some of the largest trees in the country – a collection of magnificent redwoods, douglas firs and other conifers planted in 1859
The trail was easy to follow and although it was quite close to the road this wasn’t an issue as very few cars passed by
Although this was only a short walk the awesome trees made it one to remember
Click on the icon below for the route map (subscribers to OS Maps can view detailed maps of the route, visualise it in aerial 3D, and download the GPX file. Non-subscribers will see a base map)
Scroll down – or click on any photo to enlarge it and you can then view as a slideshow
In the hope of spotting more red deer, we stopped at nearby Ober Heath where I’d walked yesterday, but were out of luck
The start of the walk at Blackwater car park
Black Water
We cross the road to enter the arboretum ahead
Entrance to the arboretum
A short circular walk leads round the arboretum, planted with a selection of trees from around the world
Coast Redwood
Western Red Cedar
Beautiful colouring on the trunks of these ancient trees
After leaving the arboretum, we start out along the Tall Trees Trail
One of the beautifully carved information boards
The largest trees in the new Forest……
Gilly adds a sense of scale to the size of these trees
We cross the road to start the return leg along the other side
Back to the start of a great little walk
