Old Oak Trail

The 'Old Oak Trail' is in the North Boarhunt part of the forest, on the other side of Hundred Acres Road. Please park in the West Walk Car Park and take care when crossing the road. The trail takes you through part of the forest where there are still some oak trees planted in Napoleonic times to provide timber for ship building. These trees, planted in 1828, now provide a habitat for specialist oak feeding moths, bats, and rare species of lichens, as well as many birds and insects. The walk gives a different atmosphere to that of a conifer plantation and is worth a visit, but the trail is not surfaced and is therefore not suitable for pushcairs or wheelchairs. In wet weather it will become muddy so suitable footwear should be worn. The trail leads you to a clearfelled area, which is an example of conifer plantation being removed and the site being left for natural regeneration. Two hundred oak trees have been planted by the local parishioners, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, and there is a clear view of Portsdown Hill and Nelson's monument. The site is currently being used by the ground nesting and nocturnal Nightjar, a summer visitor from Africa, and has a colourful display of foxgloves in May/June. Please control your dog and do not allow it to disturb ground nesting birds.

A new iPhone App for visitors to Forestry Commission sites is also available now. It's easy to use and has a number of features including downloadable trail maps. For more information visit www.forestry.gov.uk/mobileapp