Wilverley Inclosure
On this walk, children will enjoy the picnic area, playing in the woods, spotting ponies, the ford over Avon Water and The Old Station Tea Rooms.
The Basics
Time: 1 hour around the inclosure (add around 35 minutes more to The Old Station Tearoom)
Distance: 4.3 km for the loop around the inlclosure (add another 2 km to walk to The Old Station Tearoom)
Terrain: The loop within the inclosure is on firm, compacted gravel; the paths are wide and there are a few gentle hills. To add on a diversion to the tearooms, you will need to cross rough and grassy moorland tracks which are sometimes boggy, climb a stile and cross a road.
Pushchair: Yes, for the walk within the inlcosure only.
Dogs: Yes, you may meet ponies or cattle if you divert to the tearoom. We have heard there is an activity trail for dogs just through the gate onto Wilverley Plain.
Refreshments: Pincic area with tables at the car park (fenced, so no ponies will bother you!) or add on a diversion to The Old Station Tea Rooms, Holmsley. There is often an ice-cream van here in summer.
Toilets: Yes, at the car park.
Parking: Wilverley Inclosure Car Park, Burley Road, free (Postcode: BH25 5TZ - W3W: exclusive/goat/gratitude)
With toilets and picnic tables, Wilverley Inclosure makes a good choice for families wanting to enjoy a day in the forest. There is a clear, way marked loop around the inclosure that is suitable for pushchairs and suits all abilities of walkers. We have added an optional extension to the loop, which will take you across moorland to The Old Station Tearooms at Holmsley. This diversion is more challenging in the terrain and does involve crossing a relatively busy road.
The Route
Begin by entering the inclosure through the main five bar gate that is opposite the entrance to the car park, marked for Wilverley Scout Campsite. You will be following the yellow markers to complete the basic loop around the inclosure.
Follow the level path going straight ahead and ignore the path to the left. Keep straight at a junction with a bench and then look out for a little cast iron sign on the floor to your left detailing some dates in the inclosure’s history. Keep going and you will come to a downhill section, where the path crosses a stream, before it rises again to a bench. Keep going on the same path.
As you continue straight, you will eventually come to a point where you spy the perimeter of the inclosure and a road ahead. There is another sign for the scout campsite here and you should take the path to your left, almost doubling back on yourself. Look out for cycle route post 226, to know you are in the right place to turn.
Continue along this path until you reach a cross road. If you are wishing to complete the basic loop, then you need to continue on the same, gravelled path and follow the yellow markers back to the car park. If you wish to take the diversion, then you should go right here along the grassy track.
Follow the grassy track and soon you will reach another cross roads where you should go left and follow the grassy track to the edge of the inclosure where you will meet a wooden gate. Go out through the gate and turn right.
Walk along the moorland path with the fence to your right. When you reach the bottom left hand corner of the inclosure, you will need to look out for the path heading diagonally off to your left. This will lead you down to an underpass with the A35 crossing above you. A trellis fence will be between you and the Burley road to your left. Continue after the underpass until you see a path leading through the scrubby trees to your left and out onto the road. You will need to climb over a rather ramshackle stile here. Cross the road with care; the crossing is on a corner. On the other side you will reach the tearooms.
To return to Wilverley, retrace your steps back through the underpass and cross the moor again. You could enter the inclosure through the gate from which you exited, but a more interesting alternative is to continue along the moor with the inclosure fence to your left. By going this route back, you will pass by some boggy habitats where we spotted lots of newts. You can also nip under the old railway bridge when you see it away to your right and enjoy the ford over Avon Water on the other side. There is no bridge here, so if you want to cross to the other side, you either need to cross in wellies or use the branches, which of course my children loved. It is a lovely little spot in a grassy glade and you could still access it by using one of the gates out of the southern section of the inclosure, without doing the full tearoom section of the walk.
Returning to the path adjacent to the inclosure, keep going until you reach the next gate into the forest on your left. Go through the gate and then turn right, to re-join the yellow route. Follow the markers back to the car park.
As well as Wilverley Inclosure, you can also enjoy Wilverley Plain from the same car park. Find it at the far end of the car park near the picnic area. It is a huge open space and you will be very likely to find lots of ponies grazing here.
The map shows the full route, including the tea rooms.
Did you know?
Inclosure or Enclosure? The words can be used interchangeably, but inclosure tends to be the preferred choice when referring to the pockets of land throughout the New Forest that have been sectioned off to create legal property rights over previously common land. In this instance, the land was enclosed for forestry rights.