Beaulieu - Bagshot Moor
This is a good walk to avoid the New Forest crowds on a Sunday afternoon. Just past the turning to Bucklers Hard, in the direction of Hatchet Pond, is a layby on the left with a footpath sign. Park here. There is another layby a little further on with a double set of gates, don't park there.
Once over the stile, take the path on your immediate right which follows the road but with the safety of a hedge in between. After about 200m, it veers to the left through fields.
Follow the path over the fields, through the woods and out onto a lane through an unexpected housing estate.
The road eventually joins the road through East Boldre. Note the Baptist Church which seems to have needed rebuilding multiple times in quick succession.
Cross the road by the Village Hall (built 1917) and ramble in a loop to suit your wants on Bagshot Moor.
Return along the original footpath.
On your return route you may like to visit the village shop for refreshments.
There are remains of the airfield built in East Boldre in 1910. There was a flying school here for two years before the airfield reverted to quiet grazing land. In 1914 one of the sheds on the airfield was taken over by the Royal Flying Corps and by 1915 the demand for pilots for World War I was so great that a training school called RFC Beaulieu was built on the area. On 24 October 1917, the village post office was accidentally damaged by a British aeroplane, and for six months the elderly inhabitants had to live under tarpaulins. The camp was closed in 1919.[9] The airfield identification letters, BEAULIEU, have been restored and are still visible at his location 50°48'25.9"N 1°28'52.7"W
2020-11 Beaulieu - Bagshot Moor.pdf