the route
The walk starts beside the Latchmore Brook at the Forestry Commission car park at Ogdens, and heads East along the valley bottom, with the stream on the left, then down the green ride between Alderhill and Sloden Inclosures, to meet with the gravel forest track. Walk through the gate on the gravel track, into Alderhill, over the wooden bridge, then due North, past Eric Ashby's bench, to meet another gravel track, taking you first due West, then North to a gate, called Gaze Hill on the OS map. From there, follow the fence line of Alderhill Inclosure, curving back to a point just North of the stream, where the mire is generally too wet to cross. From here, follow a pony track which traces the lowest point of permanently dry ground, bending back towards Hampton Ridge in order to cross a drainage ditch where a small culvert has been embedded, then heading to the North side of Latchmore Bottom, near the remains of the bomb target. This area just below the largest of the mires links with a path coming down from Windmill Pond, and I monitored the butterflies along this path, as far as the stream which comes down from the mire at Thompson's Castle, which marks the end of the route.
This route is divided into 8 sections:
Section 1: Ogdens to Latchmore Shade [640 metres]
The route starts immediately beside Latchmore Brook at the Ogdens car park, and the first section heads east (upstream) following a green path alongside the brook, with a substantial mixed scrub of small thorns, brambles and honeysuckles, and some isolated gorse bushes to the left. It finishes at the last gorse bush before the open lawn of Latchmore Shade, which is the favoured daytime resting place for a large herd of mixed New Forest ponies and cattle.
Section 2: Latchmore Bottom, south of the Brook [1100 metres]
This section continues eastward on a well-defined green track which follows the bottom of valley, firstly across the open grazed area (between the ponies and cattle), then to the right of the low mounds of grass alongside Latchmore Brook. The path becomes bordered by heather and bracken, emerging into a low-lying and broken piece of heather moor, which can be muddy as it approaches a low ford, a small stream, and the fenceline of Alderhill Inclosure, which marks the end of the section.
Section 3: Green ride between Alderhill and Sloden [480 metres]
This section comprises a length of the wide green ride between the two enclosures, with the fence line of Alderhill to the left, including several holly bushes. The left side of the ride has extensive bramble bushes and some bracken. The section ends at the five-bar gate on the left which opens into Alderhill Inclosure.
Section 4: Alderhill Bridge and Eric's bench [180 metres]
This short section follows the gravel track northwards through Alderhill, crossing Latchmore Brook at a substantial wooden bridge, then, at Eric Ashby's memorial bench, follows the green shortcut immediately behind the bench, to link with the gravel forestry track running east to west. The large tangle of bramble and honeysuckle beside the bench is an excellent place for Silver-washed Fritillary. This section has contrasting mature trees, with pines to the left, and some excellent oaks to the right.
Section 5: The Alderhill gravel track [510 metres]
This section faces west, and is the beginning of the return journey. It follows a solid gravel forest road, bordered by ditches containing rushes and thistles, to a crossroads, where a right turn is taken to head north, on a less made up track, to exit Alderhill Inclosure at the five-bar gate which marks the end of the section. Whereas the west-facing gravel track is one of the most productive areas of the entire route, the northward path seldom has any butterflies. In the winter of 2018/19, Forestry England felled several blocks of conifers in Alderhill, including trees on either side of the walk route. I had hoped this would improve the diversity of species seen in this area in future, but the decline in species has continued.
Section 6: Outside the west edge of Alderhill [460 metres]
This section starts on the gravel path which is heads up onto Hampton Ridge, but only for a few metres, to pick up a footpath to the left, which joins with the track following the outside of the fence-line of the western edge of the enclosure. This section follows the fence back down towards Latchmore Brook, through broken heather and bracken, on a warm, sandy, rutted track, then under a stand of Scots Pine. The section ends at the final Scots Pine, before the usually wet ground where the Latchmore Brook emerges from the enclosure.
Section 7: The return path above the bog [640 metres]
Turning right (westwards) away from the enclosure, pick up a small pony track which follows the edge of the solid heath, and continues westward, just above the more broken and damp ground on the north side of the Latchmore Brook. This westward route is barred by an extensive drainage stream from one of the mires, which can be followed north to a crossing point where a small concrete culvert acts as a bridge which is crossed to continue on the pony track westwards. The section finishes at the beginning of the extensive network of streams and channels draining from the large mire at Latchmore Bottom, near the remains of the World War Two bombing target, which now appears as a collection of drilled concrete blocks in a well-defined circle.
Section 8: The track towards Windmill Hill [630 metres]
This section starts by picking a route through the streams and ditches draining from the extensive mire to the north, then emerges onto a clearly defined track across the heather and bracken moor. The track heads in the direction of Windmill Hill, and Abbots Well, but the section ends at the crossing of the stream which drains out of the mire at Thompson's Castle.