Owned by the National Trust and managed together with Natural England, Holt Heath covers just under two square miles. On high ground, with intermittent distant views as far as coastal multistorey properties, the National Nature Reserve (NNR) and Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) includes wet and dry heathland, bog and ancient woodland habitats. All six native British reptiles are found on this site, and rare heathland birds such as nightjar and woodlark have been recorded as breeding here. As common land, historically local people grazed their livestock on the heath which helped maintained the open habitat. This is now being reinstated by a programme of selective grazing, you may spot grazing cattle on your walk.
Bull Barrow is a Historic England scheduled bowl barrow, most probably Bronze Age (between 2400-1500 BC). Prominently situated on a hilltop, the barrow’s mound is 50ft diameter and 4ft high, surrounded by a quarry ditch from which the mound’s material was extracted. The barrow is flat topped and may have been excavated in the past; erosion revealed flint-knapping debris and two flint scrapers.
The Walk
1. From within the extensive car park, walk back towards the entrance and take the right 1½ National Trust No.3 gates before the road. Through, follow the main track through deciduous trees. Ignore all sidetracks and paths and continue with gorse left and woods right, then into mostly pines and bracken. Pass right cattle pens at a left large old oak and a left track. Still keep straight on to a facing gate onto open heath - but don’t go through. Instead, fork left onto the track down under the long line of trees with a right fence. Keep to the meandering track with heath outside the trees on both sides, then with open heath glimpses through gorse and foxgloves. Past a right turning, continue, shaded under trees, and up the tree-root bank into grassy heathland.
2. At the three-way bridleway-crossing post, keep straight up the multi-path track, drawing slowly nearer to the left road as you descend, and swing left on your greener path. Cross a right-left path at the National Trust No.3 post and walk up to the Three Legged Cross to Holt road. Cross into the wide ‘Private Lane’ track and follow it up with skylarks active over the heath to your left. Up and over a hump, see fern and gorse-clad Bull Barrow ahead-left on the hilltop. Continuing down for 100 yards, take the narrow but clear left path meandering up the hill. Reaching the T-junction of paths, you will be continuing right. But first go left onto the gorse surrounded top of Bull Barrow for views to the Isle of Wight south-east, Bournemouth’s blocks of apartments south-south-east, Poole’s Tower Park water-tower due south and Horton Tower north-west.
3. From the top, go north, instantly passing the path on which you arrived, to a wider track with an O.S. trig point opposite. But, to continue the walk, turn right on the track/path down the hill over the heath, hearing peacocks somewhere to your left. Rejoin the track you left to visit Bull Barrow and turn left. Take the first right track down under trees. In 90 yards, fork right, well before the house, and follow the level track under mostly oaks, encircling the right heath and passing left barns at a tracks’ junction. Keep going clockwise past Millennium Cottage and continue under trees with Bull Barrow away to your right. Then, meandering past the left-gated house, rise around a right bend with two left gates. Over the cattle-grid and half-gate, a footpath half-gate away to your right on the left bend brings a footpath which joins your track.
4. Continue past left camping fields and the right fence to the road again. Turn right and follow the left verge past two right bungalows. Take the left footpath-signed track between cottages to another cattle-grid and half-gate. Through, continue past right ‘The Cottage’ and another cottage. Now, with heath left and trees right, don’t miss the right bridleway-signed path. Walk into the ‘tunnel’ of holly and ivy-clad trees with fields left. When the path forks, take either. They meet again in a few yards. Continue with paddocks right to a crossing with 1½ road-gates over to your right. Turn left on the green track down onto bushy heathland. At the fork, pass right of the large birch and, past the right boggy area, ascend the wide track. Continue along the track through gorse and, past another left fork, continue above the low-lying and probably seasonally boggy left plain, the reason for the sweeping meanders of this track which follow the rim of the lowland.
5. Meeting a wider track, follow it right and keep straight on over heath around the long bends, ignoring the right fork on a long-left curve with a low faded arrow-post on the right triangle. Past left birch trees, keep swinging left on the multi-path track, then being joined by another track coming from behind-right. Still keep straight on. Then, descending on a swinging left bend, the track becomes flinty and gravely with lots of young pines and birches, then bends right twice to a stream-bridge and 1½ facing gates. Through, and over the crossing path, keep straight on up through the plantation of young deciduous trees, holm oaks and bushes. Reaching a tracks’ crossing, turn right, still all young plantation, level then rising slightly to an angled crossing. Keep straight on, passing trackside pools, then merging into mixed pine and deciduous trees at a paths’ crossing. Keep straight on up in shade of older trees, hearing chiffchaffs as you go. Through facing 1½ gates, continue to the car park entrance - or go through the nearby right path into the parking area. Either way, you are now back to where you started.
Compass Point
Distance: 4 miles/6.5 km
Time: 2½ hours
Exertion: Easy. Sandy heathland tracks. No stiles
Map: OS Landranger Sheet 195
Start: White Sheet Plantation car park (Grid Ref: SU048037)
Public Transport: None
Dogs: On leads near roads and during ground-nesting season (March - August) and where there is livestock. Abide by The Countryside Code
Refreshments: Old Inn at Holt, Cross Keys at Mannington for lunches and bar meals
