Minstead Circular

'Best' is subjective, of course, but Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was voted top for 'The Best Crime Author' on the Ranker website in 2020, and on this fresh take on some classic New Forest scenery you can see his grave. Sir Arthur was originally buried in a vertical position in Crowborough in Sussex and re-interred in Minstead by the family of his deceased first wife after the death of the second Lady Conan Doyle. Initially resistant because of his spiritualism, the Church of England, ever flexible, relented, and here he is, interred beneath a large tree, a Holmesian calabash pipe sometimes resting beside his gravestone. 

Other curios in Minstead include the name and sign of the pub, The Trusty Servant. An American author in the 19th century described the figure 'which emblematically sets forth those virtues in domestics, of which we Americans know nothing. It is a figure, part man, part porker, part deer, and part donkey; with a padlock on his mouth, and various other symbols in his hands and about his person, the whole signifying a most valuable character.' The padlock connotes diplomacy; the donkey's ears, humility; the deer hooves, alacrity; the pig's face, omnivory; the open hand, honesty; the tools, industry. The figure and name is based on a mural from 1579 at Winchester College, but the link with the school has never been established. 

Leaving behind all that's quaint and queer in Minstead, which includes the whitewashed cottages and 13th and 18th century church of All Saints (which has two large galleries,  a three-decker pulpit, and an unusual 'luxury' pew, complete with its own fireplace), we'll set out into the forest, following this route (please click the link) and seeing the various 'inclosures'. Inclosures are defined as 'clearly demarcated areas of predominantly plantation woodland which may or may not be separated from the grazed Open Forest by stock fences' (New Forest Design Plan). As a result, this walk will be primarily wooded, but there will be some open grazed land and village clearings for variety. 

On the subject of variety, the walk crosses the Bolderwood Arboretum Ornamental Drive twice, along which, in 1860, were planted ornamental coniferous trees. Some were lost in the storm of 1987 but look out for Douglas fir, deodar cedar, Lawson’s cyprus, western red cedar, giant redwood and black pine. Staying with the subject of trees, this walk will also encounter the Forest's oldest one, the 600 year old Knightwood Oak. 

Close to the end of the walk is another pretty village, Emery Down. This was where, in 1840, the famous 'snake catcher' Brusher Mills was born. A benefactor of the village was Admiral Frederick Moore Boultbee, who lived there between 1856 and 1876. He paid for the village church, school and almshouses which were all designed by the eminent architect William Butterfield. The New Forest Inn hosted the captain of the Titanic, Edward Smith, on his final night on British shores before the fateful sailing.

The New Forest is of exceptional importance for wildlife, but after this walk, 'Mike's Minstead Mince', this part of it should be of exceptional importance to us OutdoorLads for its historical and literary connections too.

Dogs are welcome to join us on this event but we do ask that 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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(Photo credits: View south-west from the north end of Acres Down, New Forest: Photo © Stefan Czapski (cc-by-sa/2.0); Clearing near Puckpits Inclosure: Photo © Hugh Venables (cc-by-sa/2.0); Blackensford, woodland: Photo © Mike Faherty (cc-by-sa/2.0); Black Water, Dames Slough Inclosure: Photo © Tim Heaton (cc-by-sa/2.0); A track in the Knightwood Inclosure: Photo © Gillian Thomas (cc-by-sa/2.0); Forest track, Knightwood Inclosure, New Forest, Hampshire: Photo © Clive Perrin (cc-by-sa/2.0); Knightwood Oak: Photo © Stuart Buchan (cc-by-sa/2.0) (rotated to be 'landscape'); Boultbee Cottage at Emery Down: Photo © Dave Jacobs (cc-by-sa/2.0); Pond at Acre's Down: Photo © Bob Ford (cc-by-sa/2.0); Grave of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, All Saints Church, Minstead: Photo © Maigheach-gheal (cc-by-sa/2.0). Pub sign The Trusty Servant, Minstead: Photo © Stefan Czapski (cc-by-sa/2.0). All photos are copyrighted but are above credited to their copyright holders and are licensed for further reuse under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0).)