Attractions and Places To See around Burton and Winkton - Top 20

A Solution Built on Porridge The pixies went first. They stampeded around the plain, creating a thundering racket that shook the leaves off nearby beech trees. It seemed impossible to beat. When it was Silas's turn, he didn't blow the whistle with his mouth. Instead, he hooked the brass whistle to the spout of his heavy copper kettle, which he had filled with boiling water and thick, bubbling oat porridge over a small fire. As the steam built up, the kettle produced a shriek so absurdly loud and high-pitched that it sounded like a frantic train engine! The screech completely rattled the Colt-pixies. Terrified of the noisy, steaming "metal monster," the entire herd bolted across the plain, tumbling over each other in a frenzy to escape the sound. The Legacy of the Plain Silas won his peace, but the pixies got the last laugh. Legend has it that as they fled, their glowing hooves scorched the ground in sweeping lines. To this day, if you walk across Wilverley Plain on a cold, misty morning, you might still spot long, unusually green strips of turf winding through the heather. Foresters chuckle and say those are the permanent slip-marks from the night the pixies lost their big race to a kettle of boiling porridge.

Long before it became a peaceful expanse of heather and grazing ponies, Wilverley Plain was the undisputed racetrack of the New Forest’s most notorious mischief-makers: the Colt-pixies. According to local lore, these horse-shaped imps loved nothing more than tricking unsuspecting forest ponies into midnight races across the flat, open plain. The Great Whistle War of 1842 The quirky tale begins with Old Man Silas, a notoriously grumpy forest keeper who lived on the edge of the plain. Silas was fed up. Every night, the Colt-pixies would whinny, whistle, and gallop in chaotic circles, keeping his cows awake and turning the grass into churned-up mud rings (which locals insisted were "pixie tracks"). One misty October night, Silas decided he’d had enough. armed with nothing but a copper kettle, a bag of dried oats, and a brass whistle, he marched out to the middle of Wilverley Plain. When the leader of the pixies—a glowing, silver-maned pony no bigger than a dog—trotted up to mock him, Silas didn't try to catch it. Instead, he made a ridiculous wager: "If I can whistle louder than your whole herd can gallop, you clear off to Mark Ash Wood for a hundred years. If I lose, you can ride my prized bull around the plain till dawn!" The pixie snorted in agreement.

As others have said, the area around this pond is crucially important for endangered birds from April to August and should be avoided during these months to give the wildlife the time and space it needs to safely raise their babies.

Walked to this pond early April. Ground comparatively dry due to very low rainfall in March. No signage seen for nesting birds.

Just to note that this small section of trailway has some looser stones which will be unsuitable for slimmer (road bike) tyres but the further you travel West towards Ringwood, the surface becomes more forest like and therefore more pleasant to ride on.

Great gravel track section, my Maxxis tyres just love this type of terrain

Known as the ‘Castleman’s Corkscrew’ due to the shape it cut across the forest and Charles Castleman who promoted it The now disused railway line was first proposed in 1844 and ran from Southampton to Dorchester. The line was only disassembled in the 1960’s with over a hundred years of use and today forms part of the National Cycle Network. The route begins in Brockenhurst, a charming village in the centre of the New Forest. Brockenhurst has great links by rail to explore the Forest car free. A place to unwind and spend time enjoying the outdoors. Brockenhurst has plenty of amenities, refreshments, places to stay and more.

Lovely open country side with easy terrain