Wilverley Inclosure
Starting Point
Wilverley Inclosure car park
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Distance
3 MILES (5KM) – Circular
A pleasant looped walk through mixed woodland in the New Forest’s popular Wilverley Inclosure.
Route
Map & GPX
Information
In Pictures
Route
Starting from the Wilverley Inclosure car park, go through the five-bar gate into the inclosure.
Keep heading straight on, ignoring a downhill path on your left after 100m.
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After another 500m the path takes a steep downward incline before climbing again.
When the path splits at a cycle marker post, take the path as it doglegs to the left and follow it downhill.
The path skirts the bottom of the inclosure for about 2km before curving round back towards the car park. If conditions underfoot are dry, you can take a shortcut through a wonderful stretch of oak and beech woodland. The forest track is marked as a green dashed line on our route map.
Extension
To visit the remains of an oak tree, known as the Naked Man, walk to the adjoining Wilverley Plain car park and follow the straight path alongside the inclosure for 700m.
Smuggling was prolific in the New Forest in the 18th and early 19th Centuries, with illicit contraband such as French brandy, gin, and fine silks landed on the coast. The government ‘revenue men’ were always on the lookout for smugglers and the penalties were harsh. The Naked Man is reputed to be where highwaymen and smugglers were hanged for their crimes.
The tree was believed to have been called the Naked Man after it was struck by lightening. The shattered trunk and two outstretched branches of the tree was said to have resembled a man.
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Essential Information
Weather
18°C
Food and Drink
In Pictures
