Ditchend   DISTANCE: 6 miles MAP: Outdoor leisure 22, The New Forest START: Ashley Walk car park, 187157. The car park is on the B3078 road. If coming from Fordingbridge, it is the second car park on the right after crossing the cattle grid at the New Forest border and passing the Fighting Cocks public house. Click here for a full page road map showing start point.   THE WALK: Leave the car park and take the wide gravel path downhill to cross the bridge over Ditchend Brook at the valley floor. Continue up Cockley Hill opposite until you reach another wide gravel track on the left after about a third of a mile. Turn left onto this track and follow it again for another third of a mile until you reach a flat grassy / gravelly area on your right. Turn right to walk southeast along the left-hand edge of this grassy area. As you reach its far left-hand edge, look out for a track which leads away to the left.   Take this path and follow it for about half a mile until you reach a clump of holly bushes where you should look out for a path leading off to the right. Notice at this point where the lower branches of these bushes have been eaten away by the New Forest ponies. Follow the path off to the right and continue along it as it crosses two tracks running left/right across your path. After crossing the second track the path drops down to a gate at the edge of Islands Thorns Inclosure. Continue along this track for a short distance through the woods. At a point where the track you are on swings to the left, take the track on your right.   Follow this track to cross over at the first crossroads of tracks to reach a second crossroads consisting of five tracks. At this point the track running left/right is quite significant, a third track leads off half left and you need to take the least significant of all tracks straight ahead. This path soon bends to the left to cross a small brook and arrives at a track way by a set of gates. Turn right here and follow this track uphill to leave the wood and reemerge onto heath land at Coopers Hill. Once on the top of the heath, turn left at a junction with a gravel track.   Shortly after a point where a small track merges from the right, take the next right-hand fork to follow a path towards a small copse which you walk through to reach a gravel track onto which you turn right. Immediately fork right to follow the track down to the gate leading into Pitts Wood Inclosure. Pass through the gate into the Inclosure. Take the first track on the left and follow this through the Inclosure, passing through more gates to emerge out of the far side of the Inclosure at must Thorn Bottom. Turn right to cross a small brook and continue generally straight on to reach Ditchend Brook. Do not cross the brook but take the right-hand path which meanders to and from the stream along the valley floor to reach the bridge you crossed earlier at the start of the walk. At this point turn left and retrace your steps back up to the car park. Home / Salisbury & Wessex / New Forest / Guestbook / Links / Your page / Other Interests