Knightwood walk - Knighwood Oak

Route: Knightwood Circular

Area: New Forest

Date of walk: 5th August 2015

Walkers: Andrew and Gilly

Distance: 8.3 miles

Weather: Mostly overcast with some light rain and drizzle

Before the start of the walk we made a short diversion and parked at Bolderwood – there is an observation area here where wild deer can be spotted at quite close quarters. We were in luck today and it was a thrill to see a herd of fallow deer grazing nearby

We then drove to nearby Knightwood and parked there for the start of the walk. We visited the Knightwood Oak – posssibly the most famous and oldest tree in the forest with a girth of 24 feet – and then started out on the circular walk which would take us through managed ‘inclosures’ as well as areas of unmanaged woodland

It was easy walking all the way, although careful navigation was needed since there are hundreds of paths in the forest some of which are shown on the OS and others which are not, and there are few navigation aids thanks to the ancient trees all around

The weather was disappointing with poor light and several showers and the camera had to be stowed away at times, but we enjoyed the walk all the same

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

Fallow deer at Bolderwood near the start of the walk…

What a wonderful sight, and we could have stayed here much longer but it was time to get on the the walk

Start of the walk from the car park by the historic Knightwood Oak

It’s a magnificent tree and I’m sorry that the photo doesn’t do it justice

We head into the forest

We pass by the Reptile Centre, home to the only collection of all the native lizards, snakes, frogs and toads - entry is free but we didn’t have enough time today