Bolderwood DISTANCE: 10 miles MAP: OS Outdoor Leisure 22 - The New Forest START: Map reference 243086 at the Forestry Commission car park at Bolderwood Green. For a full page road map showing the start point click here. NOTES: This walk attempts to follow a description I read on a 40 year old leaflet I found in the local library. Whilst most of the walk was generally easy to follow, the heavy traffic on the A32 trunk road denies us from completing the original last two miles. My detour, whilst still safely on New Forest ground, was within close proximity to the road so therefore you will be walking with the noise of traffic quite prominent for a mile or so.   THE WALK: Leave the car park in a westerly direction and cross the Ornamental Drive with its entrance and cattle grid on the left. Continue down the gravel track opposite towards Bolderwood Farm. Upon reaching the cattle grid and the entrance to the farm , turn right and follow the fence line downhill then left. Still following the fence line you may have to divert occasionally if the ground is wet. Soon meet a gravel track and bear left onto it. The track leads you to enter North Oakley Inclosure where you continue downhill to cross the stream of Bratley Water. After crossing, fork right up the grassy ride ahead. At the top of the ride, do not proceed to the gate you can see about 60 yards ahead, but instead turn left along a narrower grassy path next to a drainage ditch with the tree line to your left. Follow this path to reach a gravel track at a T-junction. Turn right and follow the track out of the woods at the gate at the top of the small incline.   Pass through the gate and continue half left to soon drop downhill to cross a couple of small concrete bridges over small streams. Continue uphill into Stinking Edge Wood and pick up a path which leads you into Backley Inclosure. Keeping left at the first fork, the path leads you uphill to the top of the ridge to where you leave the Inclosure. Here bear left along the gravel track and follow the left hand edge of the lawn of Backley Holmes round to the right. Turn right at an oil pipeline marker and walk parallel to the A31 with the road to your left. After a while, turn left to go through the underpass.   Emerging through the other side, turn right to reach a gate by a parking place. (Quite why some members of the public feel it is fine to leave their rubbish in the New Forest here can be somewhat saddening.) Anyway, turn left and strike out north following the track which leads from the gate. Keep right at the first fork and follow the track across a gravel track to reach a minor road at the corner of Milkham Inclosure, the wooded area to your left. Cross the road and continue ahead. After about 200 yards, turn right along the first track and follow this into Slufters Inclosure. The track leads you straight through the Inclosure, crossing Bratley Water stream on the way. Bear left out of the Inclosure, taking the path that leads you uphill to the top of the heath. Here you join the start of a track that comes in from the right. Turn left onto the track and follow it north until it swings sharply left at the cornel of Ocknell Inclosure.   Here, swing right, with the tree line on your left, looking for a track on the left which takes you downhill into Ocknell Inclosure, quickly turning right on a track which leads you downhill to a stream. Cross this stream, bear right uphill and then downhill to cross a second stream. Follow the path uphill as it leads you to the camping grounds of Ocknell camping site. Cross the small wooden barrier into the site and turn left on the track and make your way, following the road markings through to the site's exit. Emerge onto a minor road and turn right towards the A31 to reach a cattle grid. At the point, the walks' instructions state "cross the A31 at the crossroads ahead". We must assume that traffic volumes were obviously far less in 1950 than they are today. Therefore our diversion takes us right to walk along the track parallel to the main road.   The track takes us past the wood of Bolderwood Walk on the right to eventually turn left onto a track which leads through an underpass. Turn right after emerging then left on a track which leads you south across the heath of Fritham Cross. Stay on the track as it leads you to the left of a pond and uphill to reach a minor road at Mogshade Hill. Bear left on this road to pass the Canadian War Memorial and remain on it as it leads you back to the car park at Bolderwood. Home / Salisbury & Wessex / New Forest / Guestbook / Links / Your page / Other Interests