Fritham-High Corner Circular

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Lowland and Hill Walks
Nov 27
2022

6 people attending

14 places left

Your price
£12.50
Event difficulty background shape EventDifficulty
Easy Moderate Very Hard
Distance is 17 km (10.5 miles); total ascent is 224m; relief is a little hilly; surfaces are grass, dirt, gravel and a little tarmac.

Make a flask of coffee, make sure your boots are dubbined, and make your way to a remote corner of the New Forest for a walk in which every treasured, timeless trope of autumn can be ticked off. Crackling bracken, lingering mists, plodding ponies - every season is a picture in the New Forest but late autumn must be one of the best. The birches might still retain a few of their leaves in mellow yellow, but most of the trees will either be bare, their outlines appearing bronze by the light of the pale sun, or if pines, emerald green. Autumn is a transitional time, and the changes are spectacular where the landscape is so untamed.

The walk explores more of the quieter, remoter areas of the Forest which are mostly north of the A31 which cuts the forest in half, only allowing a few ponies, walkers and riders to move between the two at occasional underpasses. The southern half is where the largest settlements, tourist attractions and transport facilities are found; the northern half has no towns and just some scattered hamlets. That said, many people appreciate the attractiveness of the area we'll visit, if the number of cars in Gorley Bushes car park in Fritham is anything to go by, and rightly so, because every habitat and landscape the New Forest encompasses, from wood pasture to heath to ancient woodland to pine plantation and from running water to standing water will be represented on this walk.

This walk will start at Fritham and proceed southwest through the lofty pines and mighty oaks of Sloden Inclosure to enjoy the sheer remoteness of the view from Hallickshole Hill. The route (click the link to be taken to the Ordnance Survey website) will then pass Hasley Inclosure before heading south across Woodford Bottom to the hamlet of High Corner with its inn. Following Broomy Walk further south and southwest, we'll turn east at Amie's Corner and continue east through Roe Inclosure and across King's Garden before veering north through Slufters Inclosure. Crossing Ocknell Plain and passing through South Bentley Inclosure will return our party to Fritham.

Dogs are welcome to join us on this event but we do ask the following: Please ensure you adhere to the Countryside Code at all times - see (Keeping Dogs Under Effective Control) If your dog is uncontrolled and strays in open land frightening other animals or livestock, the leader is supported by the OutdoorLads board of trustees to ask you to leave the event as this is not acceptable behaviour.

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(Picture credits: Hallickshole Hill: Photo © Peter Facey (cc-by-sa/2.0); View towards Ogdens Purlieu from High Corner Inn Road: Photo © Gillian Thomas (cc-by-sa/2.0); Forest Track in Hasley Inclosure New Forest Hampshire: Photo © Clive Perrin (cc-by-sa/2.0); Linwood, road: Photo © Mike Faherty (cc-by-sa/2.0); Linwood, footbridge and ford: : Photo © Mike Faherty (cc-by-sa/2.0); High Corner, footpath: Photo © Mike Faherty (cc-by-sa/2.0); Mature oaks at Castle Piece, Roe Inclosure, New Forest: Photo © Jim Champion (cc-by-sa/2.0); Cycle route through Slufters Inclosure, New Forest: Photo © Jim Champion (cc-by-sa/2.0); Dockens Water: Photo © Hugh Venables (cc-by-sa/2.0). All pictures are copyrighted but are licensed for reuse under Creative Commons CC-BY-SA 2.0 and are here attributed to their copyright holders.)