West Walk, Forest of Bere
Wickham
Children will enjoy the wooden huts, woodland play area and sandpit on this walk.
Hot chocolates from Mimi Makes and one of the wooden play huts
The Basics
Time: 1 hour
Distance: 3.4 km /2.1 miles
Terrain: Well maintained woodland paths, some hills.
Pushchair: Pushchairs should be able to make it around this walk with one uphill push!
Dogs: Dogs are welcome on this walk, but not in the sandy play area on the left hand side.
Refreshments: Mimi Makes food truck in the car park with cakes, bakes, hot drinks and snacks, Thursday - Sunday.
Toilets: There are toilets in the car park.
Public Transport: There is no public transport to this location.
Parking: Large pay and display car park off Hundred Acres Road (Postcode: PO17 6JB - W3W: ///signs.shorted.gosh)
This part of the forest is also home to a small woodland play area
West Walk is part of The Forest of Bere, an ancient forested landscape that once stretched uninterrupted across much of Southern Hampshire. Today, in what remains of the forest, you will find miles of woodland trails waiting to be explored, as well as a children’s playground and picnic area.
The Route
Leave the car park behind you and walk down the main path with the sandy play area with huts over the fence to your left. Continue to a fork, where you should go left following the blue arrow slightly down hill.
At a large intersection with five path options. take the first right passing a new bench. Continue in a straight line and after about half a kilometre, the path will cross a ditch. In the winter this will be full of water, but in the summer it may be a dry ditch. Soon after, you will come to a fork with a bench and a grassy triangle in the middle. Continue straight here.
At the next staggered cross path, turn right where the Soberton and Newtown Millennium walk goes straight ahead. Climb the hill, which will require a little effort with pushchairs. Where the surface becomes a little muddier/rougher, turn right, following the red arrow. Continue straight at the little cross path, now ignoring the red arrow.
Turn left at the end of this track and walk up the hill towards the car park, play area, picnic site, toilets and Mimi Makes.
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Did you know?
At 350 hectares, West Walk is the largest remaining fragment of the ancient Forest of Bere.
If you enjoyed this walk..
…in April/May try extending it to Upperford Copse to enjoy the bluebells.
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