Village Voice AUGSEPT 22

Holmsley Inclosure
AWalk by Suzanne Ashworth
SU2227 0036 BH24 4HY
Small carpark by Holmsley Gatehouse, whichisaholidaycottage. Abeautifulareaofmixed
woodland notfar fromthe disusedrailway track and near Holmsleycampsite,which was
developedonthe oldWW2baseand hasaRAFmemorialonsite.
In additiontothe wood andheathland walksthere are enchantingtracksthrough theInclosure
itself.Thishas conifers andbroadleaved trees, lots of tracks andstreams forwalkingand cycling
andofferswalksofvarying lengths to suitall.
Thecar park is notlarge andwellhidden, so go early in busy seasons, or join theInclosure from
theCastlemain trackorthe laneacrossthe heath.
When thelockdown endedinsummer 2019, we were amused andsomewhatirritated to find
onepreciouscar park spacetaken up by acouplewho hadset up theirdeckchairs in theshade
actuallyfacing theircar boot!Whatawaste.
If youwanttoextend your walk or make aday of it youcan continue fromthe railway track up
theheath to some beautiful ponds, onecompletely coveredinsummer with waterlilies.
Continue across theheath anddownthe tracks towardsBurbush andyou will suddenly com
uponWhittenPond.
Whitten Pond near Burley,approachfromBH234EF or 8EESU2041 0124
Thereare many ways to approach this New
Forest watering hole, whichisusually
surroundedbycommoners’livestocktaking
adrink or resting. At thebaseofWhitten
Bottomthe pond is fedbynumerous
streams andruts, whichare filledwith
rainwateratwet times of theyear.
Thenarrow tracks becomerushing streams
in winter.Wefirstdiscoveredthisplace one
quiet late Spring morning. Thepondwas
tranquil anddesertedapart fromponies and
cattle, hummingwithdragonflies and
damselflies. Theabundant waterlilieswere
just opening–an enchanting place.
Unfortunately,thispondisalso much more
easily accessed fromthe carparkatBurbush
Hill between Burley Street andBransgore
andisveryverypopular in thesummer.
After theCovid-19 lockdown thepondwas
surroundedbyhordesofnoisy people with
radios, barbecues, andevenlittle boats –
more like ahot dayatBlackpool.The car
park wasfulland theroadalmost
impassable duetoillegal parkingonboth
sides–all theNew Forest rangerscould do
wasput warningstickers on thevehiclesand
hope damage to this habitat wasnot too
long-lasting.
Whitten Pond
Oneofthe New Forest tour busroutesgoesrightpast, anditisnowonderitisatarget …...
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