Brockenhurst to Ashurst

6th July 2009

This trip utilised local train stations. I proved to myself that a bit of forward planning means I can do more interesting linear walks, and indulge four different hobbies in one go - travelling, reading, walking and photography.


I had a lovely walk despite the day being somewhat cloudy and windy.

I thoroughly enjoyed it right up to the bit where the clouds decided to dump all over me two minutes from Ashurst Station. It was a case of "do I stop to put my rain trousers on or catch the train?" I decided I wanted to catch the train. I had been speedwalking for 15 minutes already by this point in order to make the train I wanted, otherwise I'd have had to wait an hour for the next one. I'd already mistimed the walk from home to my local station outbound, arriving just as the train pulled in; the stupid automated ticket machine only had my destination in a sub-menu, by which time the train was pulling away.

I had a choice. If I went home, what was I going to do as my car was a bit poorly (exhaust)? Well, I had Dracula with me (the book, the book!), so I bought my ticket and sat on the station for an hour reading Jonathan Harker's adventures in Transylvania. The next train arrived and from that point, until torrential downpour mentioned above, the day was lovely.

The train deposited me at Brockenhurst. The route begins from here and starts off across the A337 and up Mill Lane. There's no pavement but there is currently a stewardship footpath along the inside edge of meadows of Brockenhurst Park, dotted with trees.

There's a short bit of road work from the exit from the footpath to the bridge before turning right along the verge of the B3055 alongside Ivy Wood, then across the road to a gate set at an angle into Perrywood Inclosure on a good grass path which goes up to the railway bridge and into Pignall Inclosure. On to the cycle track and soon off it again on one of those impassible-looking paths of clumpy, long grass which always have a narrow but definite path running through them.

So to another gate and along another ride between Stubby Copse and Parkhill, this time a path of short grass but likely to become a quagmire in winter after horses have been along it. On to a cycle track in Stubby Copse, and soon off it again on to another overgrown, dried out ride which arcs around the cycle track (I didn't want to keep along the cycle tracks). Back on to the cycle track again and turn north until an almost Roman-straight good footpath of grass and gravel that curves down and up again.

At the top of the rise - um, well, they don't tell you these things before you get to them and - it's a ride under re-establishment, after all the tree-felling and churning up of the paths by equipment. There are signs: "No Walking" "No Cycling" "No Horse Riding". Well, it looked all right to me, and there was a way around the barrier and my planned route went that way. I didn't want to divert (I'd have missed my train), so I - well, I did a bad thing - a bit naughty, really ...

Then I had to climb over the fence out of the Inclosure (Denny Lodge) because they'd chained up the gate. And there was no notice on the gate to say why it was chained up!

I left the scene of my misdemeanour and enjoyed the trees of the copse. Emerging from the trees into more open ground I was treated to an aerial display of many little swifts darting and wheeling around and above my head. Whether in exuberance or alarm I don't know. It all looked fairly exuberant, and they weren't diving at me.

Two bridges over the wetland and an excellent path up through Bishop of Winchester's Purlieu, through Bishop's Dyke and over Shatterford. It got very windy across the expanse of moorland but my Tilley Hat is excellent! On up to Beaulieu Road where I sat on the station platform to eat my lunch. I'd forgotten to bring some cash to have a cup of tea at the Inn.

I checked the time and my position and found that in two hours I'd covered about 2/3 the distance. I reckoned the rest of the route to be about an hour's walking, and with the bit of power-walking at the end I was just about right.

I left Beaulieu Road Station, crossed Beualieu Road on to the path that goes over another windy moor, which looks quite wild from the road. The path is excellent and comes to a lawn which today was crowded with ponies. The route turns right, eastward, under a railway arch into a little woodland called Withycombe Shade (not quite the Withywindle (Tolkien ref) but it does have a sluggish brown river).

After the footbridge, the path turns north and is a quite, pleasant path alongside the tree-lined railway, through clumps of gorse and a narrow windbreak of trees with a shallow ford, and on the right another path rises towards the towering pines of Longdown Inclosure. Ahead, the path rises and forks, left over a railway bridge to Fulliford Bog, onward towards Deerleap Inclosure.

I went on into Deerleap (the path also bends east here to follow the line of the Inclosure fence up to Deerleap Car Park) and checked my watch. There's about a mile to go to get to Ashurst Station and I need to make it in 20 minutes.

I begin to walk fast through the Inclosure and out of the gate at the far end there's a choice of ways to the Station. Do I go left over the railway bridge and turn right along the path through the campsite? Or should I keep along the open bit of common ahead, which I have seen described as a dog-toilet? Had I chosen the latter and slightly quicker way, would I have avoided a soaking?

All things being as our choices make them, I chose what I believed to be the best choice at the time. (Incidentally, I would still choose the pleasant path through the campsite over the "dog-toilet") As the rain beat down upon me, I believe I muttered "why did I come this way?" as well as cursing the rain. But I made the Station, the train arrived on time, and I didn't have to change at Southampton Central for my local stop this time.