A small but beautiful area of ancient and ornamental woodland near Lyndhurst, Matley Wood is an enchanting forest experience.  This short circuit winds through oak, beech and holly trees before emerging onto the open heathland and glimpsing evidence of the New Forest’s Bronze Age history.

Route

From the car park, walk back up the hill and into the campsite. Join the main path behind the campsite noticeboard and turn right heading into the woods.

Follow the path through the woods for 800m as it gradually heads downhill before emerging onto the open heath at Matley Holms.

Immediately turn left and follow the grassy track which runs along the outside of the wood, keeping the heath to your right.

Follow the track for 400m as it heads out onto the open heath. Take the path on the left which dog-legs back towards the woods.

 Just to the right of the path are the remains of three tumuli – Bronze Age burial mounds. Also known as ‘Barrows’, there are about 200 such mounds in the New Forest. Dating back about 3,500 years, they are thought to be where tribal leaders or other revered individuals were buried.

Stay on the path for 200m until it re-enters the woods. Take the path heading right, which skirts the edge of the woods for about 400m before emerging onto a grassy path. Follow the track for another 300m, keeping the woods on your left.

 The area between Matley, Ashurst and Lyndhurst was used extensively by the military during World War One. White Moor was used as a training site with practise trenches dug to replicate the battlefields in France.

The now-quiet heath would have echoed to the constant sounds of blasts and explosions as soldiers trained with grenades, landmines and mortars. Military dogs were also trained to carry messages through the trenches.

Unexploded items of ordnance have been found on the moor ever since – although systematic search and clearance work in recent years has made it safer. Walkers are still warned to take care if they come across any suspicious objects.

When you reach the edge of the woods, turn left and climb up the bank for another 200m until you reach the main gravel path into the campsite. At the noticeboard turn right and make your way back to the car park.

In Pictures

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