A short stroll from the old cricket pitch at Swan Green on the edge of Lyndhurst, through the woods to the neighbouring hamlet of Emery Down.

Route

From the Swan Green car park, head for the far corner of the green, close to the fence beside the A35.

Swan Green is one of the most photogenic spots in the forest – Beehive Cottage, on its eastern side, dates back to the 1830s. Alongside it is a row of terraced thatched cottages.

Step over a small gulley and onto the path heading uphill into the trees. After a fairly steep 200m climb, the track levels off.

Just before the brow of the hill, take the gravel path off to the right towards Emery Down.

The path levels out after 100m and turns to the left at a large reservoir water tank. Follow the path as it bends to the right and widens.

Continue on the path downhill for 350m until you emerge at Emery Down, alongside the New Forest Inn.

Take a break at the pub, or turn right and walk uphill along the footpath.

Across the road is the single-storey Emery Down Almshouses, known as Boultbee Cottages. Almshouses are a charitable form of self-sufficient, low-cost community housing. There are five cottages, with a pump in the central garden. Four of them are designed for single occupancy and one is for a couple. The Grade II listed cottages, were originally built in 1871 by Admiral Frederick Moore Boultbee. They were renovated in 2014, in a restoration project described by the then Prince of Wales as “an outstanding Almshouse development”.

Further along the footpath, you’ll come to Christ Church – designed by Victorian architect William Butterfield. It was opened in 1864 to serve the outlying areas of the parish of Lyndhurst. The construction of the church was also funded by Admiral Boultbee. Although the parish church, St Michael and All Angels in Lyndhurst, had opened shortly beforehand, it was considered unable to comfortably accommodate the entire congregation and was also criticised for being drafty and cold.

The Lych Gate holds the parish war memorial. It is inscribed with the names of 22 men who fell in World War One and four who were killed in World War Two.

Follow the footpath up the hill, passing the entrance to Notherwood House across the road on the left.

Walk down the hill back towards the Swan Green car park.

In Pictures

1 2 ►