Gentle ambles in the New Forest

[ncutler]

Mission Control and I are staying in Lyndhurst intending a few gentle day rides in the New Forest.
Any thoughts about nice routes / places would be very welcome.

[Jdsk]

How about a visit to the Reptile Centre near Lyndhurst?
https://www.new-forest-national-park.co ... le-centre/

Jonathan

[ymfb]

On or off road ?

I ride a circular road route that includes Rhinefield Drive, up to the Canadian Memorial, Stoney Cross Airfield, Fritham Roger Penny Way to Fordingbridge, North and South Gorley, Moyles Court, turn left back up to the Canadian memorial etc.

Woods Cyclery in Lyndhurst do ride outs, not that I’ve been on them.

[Norman H]

I’ve enjoyed cycling in the New Forest on a number of occasions, both on and off road, usually staying at the YH at Burley. For route suggestions I’d recommend visiting any of the local cycle hire shops. I can particularly recommend Forest Leisure Cycling at Burley where you’ll find plenty maps, guides and helpful local knowledge.

The maritime museum at Bucklers hard is worth a visit, as is the Sammy Miller Motorcycle museum if you’re at all interested in motorcycles

[ymfb]

If you need lunch I can recommend the ploughman’s at https://royaloakfritham.co.uk/

[jgurney]

staying in Lyndhurst intending a few gentle day rides in the New Forest. Any thoughts about nice routes

What sorts of distances?
Are you comfortable riding on fairly busy two-lane A-roads?
Do you mind, or like, fairly rough tracks?
Have you got/would you get the OS 1:25k map of the area?

There are some cycle routes on logging tracks and other paths around the Forest, which can be pleasant if you don't mind fairly rough surfaces in parts. However they tend to ramble around, sometimes in loops, rather than usefully connect places together (they are practically useless for local residents wanting to get from place to place). They are marked on the OS 1:25k. That map is particularly useful for finding the cycleable paths going through underpasses under the A31 near Picket Piece and Rufus Stone: those are not at all obvious or well signposted.

Lyndhurst is the confluence of most of the Forest's A-roads and so most direct journeys to nearby places will involve some riding on them. There is a 'permission to cycle on the pavement' shared use path along the A35 between Lyndhurst and Ashurst. Personally I have ridden along the A337 to Cadnam and Brockenhurst and the A35 towards Christchurch without any problems.

Some possible rides:
1 - (by minor roads) through Emery Down and Boulderwood to Linford, or to the High Corner Inn near Linford, or further to Rockford. Back the same way. (Lyndhurst to Linwood = 9 miles one way).

2 - (minor roads and tracks) to Bank, then track to Ober Corner and into Brockenhurst. Either return the same way or along the A337. (6 miles one way)

3 - (inc. tracks and B road). to Beaulieu then Brockenhurst, then track from Ober Corner to Bank, then to Lyndhurst (20 mile round trip)

4 - (minor roads and tracks ) To Rockford as in 1 above, then to Shobley and by track to Picket Piece and underpass under the A31. To Burley then by tracks to Boulderwood and minor road to Emery Down & Lyndhurst (24 mile round trip)
4A - (inc. some A-road, no tracks) To Rockford as in 1 above, then to Poulner, cross the A31 by the overbridge, then to Crow and Burley, then to Lyndhurst (last 3 miles into Lyndhurst on the A35) (23 mile round trip)

5 - (inc B-road) To Rockford as in 1 above, then to Godshill. B3078 to Long Cross then to Bramshaw, Furzley Common, Newbridge and Bartley, then Minstead and Emery Down and to Lyndhurst (31 mile round trip)
5A - (inc. some A-road) As 5 above to Newbridge then to Cadnam Green, Cadnam then to Lyndhurst either via Minstead or direct down the A337 (29-mile round trip)

A couple of unofficial but usable cycle shortcuts within Lyndhurst:
- from Wellands Road to the junction of High Street and Gosport Lane
- from Dearing Close to the far south-west corner of the car park just off the High Street (Community Centre / New Forest Heritage Centre)

[ncutler]

Thank you everyone very helpful.
We are not this time into anything very long or serious as Mission Control is still recovering from what we think is long COVID and I'm not quite fully fit after breaking my thigh .... Anyway today we escaped from the endless traffic embolism that afflicts Lyndhurst and wandered along ok-ish gravel paths stopping to identify huge old trees, talk to ponies, nibble picnics. I'm not sure if this really counts as 'cycling' but the weather is perfect, other walkers and cyclists friendly, and it's lovely to spend a day in an interesting landscape without any pressure to actually arrive anywhere.

[ymfb]

As one poster mentioned the bike shops such as Woods Cyclery in Lyndhurst, Cafe Velo in Ringwood and another in Brockenhurst I have found to be knowledgeable and helpful.

Despite riding a gravel bike I have found the tracks to be a bit of a puncture fest and prefer the small roads, choosing to cross the main routes.

[peetee]

I used to ride in the New Forest regularly a fair few years ago and loved it, but my experience of it about two years ago put a different slant on things. My partner and I were mixing road and off-road and I wish we had stayed on the trails. The road sections seemed to be nothing but hassle as were were constantly buzzed by impatient risk-taking motorists close-passing or poorly timing their overtaking putting us and other road users at risk by cutting in.
So, whinging aside, my advice would be follow the off road routes - after all, that’s where the real New Forest is.

[ymfb]

We regularly ride the New Forest, mainly north of the A31, we find road users much the same as in other nearby areas, certainly no worse.

We try to avoid riding along the A35, A338, A337 and definitely the A31 & A326.

[jgurney]

my advice would be follow the off road routes

Trouble is those are short isolated sections which do not form a network and very rarely connect any two places together. They are useless to residents for getting between settlements and are very little use for tourists wanting to get around the whole area, except as occasional additions to a ride mainly using the roads. The main users seem to be motorists-with-bikes driving to a car park, cycling round a short loop through the trees then driving off again, and local residents who happen to have such a path starting near their home and go riding for a short leisure ride then back again.

[peetee]

my advice would be follow the off road routes

Trouble is those are short isolated sections which do not form a network and very rarely connect any two places together. They are useless to residents for getting between settlements and are very little use for tourists wanting to get around the whole area, except as occasional additions to a ride mainly using the roads. The main users seem to be motorists-with-bikes driving to a car park, cycling round a short loop through the trees then driving off again, and local residents who happen to have such a path starting near their home and go riding for a short leisure ride then back again.

When last I visited the situation off-road was as it had been for many years previous to that . With the exception of some routes marked as prohibited to cycle traffic, one was free to ride on the gravel paths through the plantations and across the heath.
I do know that there are specific cycle trails but the gravel roads are, on the whole, wide, consistently surfaced and very pleasant to ride. I have spent countless hours doing so across a very wide area and never had my freedom to do so questioned en-route.
If that has changed I would very much like to know as we do plan to return for another stay locally.

[gcogger]

my advice would be follow the off road routes

Trouble is those are short isolated sections which do not form a network and very rarely connect any two places together. They are useless to residents for getting between settlements and are very little use for tourists wanting to get around the whole area, except as occasional additions to a ride mainly using the roads. The main users seem to be motorists-with-bikes driving to a car park, cycling round a short loop through the trees then driving off again, and local residents who happen to have such a path starting near their home and go riding for a short leisure ride then back again.

When last I visited the situation off-road was as it had been for many years previous to that . With the exception of some routes marked as prohibited to cycle traffic, one was free to ride on the gravel paths through the plantations and across the heath.
I do know that there are specific cycle trails but the gravel roads are, on the whole, wide, consistently surfaced and very pleasant to ride. I have spent countless hours doing so across a very wide area and never had my freedom to do so questioned en-route.
If that has changed I would very much like to know as we do plan to return for another stay locally.

I believe the 'official' line is as described here: https://www.newforestnpa.gov.uk/things- ... ng-routes/
They say

You can cycle on public roads, byways open to all traffic, public bridleways, restricted bridleways, and dedicated New Forest cycle routes. You are not permitted to ride over the Open Forest, or on Forestry England tracks which are not dedicated cycle routes.

and, on another page

Off road, cycle only on the waymarked network of Forestry England tracks, bridleways, byways, restricted byways and designated routes

There's a downloadable pdf with a map of the permitted cycling routes, and I was surprised by how limited it is. I'm not sure how much they enforce the rules, however.

[jgurney]

Trouble is those are short isolated sections which do not form a network and very rarely connect any two places together. They are useless to residents for getting between settlements and are very little use for tourists wanting to get around the whole area, except as occasional additions to a ride mainly using the roads. The main users seem to be motorists-with-bikes driving to a car park, cycling round a short loop through the trees then driving off again, and local residents who happen to have such a path starting near their home and go riding for a short leisure ride then back again.

When last I visited the situation off-road was as it had been for many years previous to that . With the exception of some routes marked as prohibited to cycle traffic, one was free to ride on the gravel paths through the plantations and across the heath.
I do know that there are specific cycle trails but the gravel roads are, on the whole, wide, consistently surfaced and very pleasant to ride. I have spent countless hours doing so across a very wide area and never had my freedom to do so questioned en-route.
If that has changed I would very much like to know as we do plan to return for another stay locally.

I believe the 'official' line is as described here: https://www.newforestnpa.gov.uk/things- ... ng-routes/
They say

You can cycle on public roads, byways open to all traffic, public bridleways, restricted bridleways, and dedicated New Forest cycle routes. You are not permitted to ride over the Open Forest, or on Forestry England tracks which are not dedicated cycle routes.

and, on another page

Off road, cycle only on the waymarked network of Forestry England tracks, bridleways, byways, restricted byways and designated routes

There's a downloadable pdf with a map of the permitted cycling routes, and I was surprised by how limited it is.

Quite - those 'off-road' paths are non-continuous and do not link any local settlements. They are of little use except in conjunction with the general-purpose roads.

The references to " byways open to all traffic, public bridleways, restricted bridleways" [sic - presumably means restricted byways] are misleading in that there are hardly any such within the Forest. There is a 2-mile long restricted byway linking Irons Well near Fritham to Bramshaw Telegraph, and some of the bridges over/under the railway are very short bridleways, but nothing else.

Peetee was either riding on the permitted paths and found they met his needs, or was off them and no-one sought to enforce the rules that time.

[peetee]

Peetee was either riding on the permitted paths and found they met his needs, or was off them and no-one sought to enforce the rules that time.

The latter.
A lot of my riding in that area was prior to it reverting to National Park status.
When I did (the comparatively few) rides in it when it was a National Park there did not appear to be any changes that restricted cyclists. Management of the area must be complicated. It was run, very competently, as a working landscape by Verderers and one has to ask how the National Park management fits into this. Regardless, I didn’t encounter any revisions to access, infrastructure or landscape after the change. Anyhooo, that was some time ago; hence the question in my previous post.