I think we had two weeks' notice and that was by a piece of A4 paper through the door, where as in the past Hampshire County Council communicated with us directly.

The walk route leaves Burley car park in a south-easterly direction and initially crosses gently undulating, open heathland before passing over Holmsley Bog on a raised section of path. The remains of Greenberry Bridge are reached from where the course of Castleman's Corkscrew, a dismantled railway line, is followed westwards.

Overview

There is a large memorial, topped by a Dakota propeller, to commemorate the aircrew and local civilians who worked there. As well as Wilverley Inclosure, you can also enjoy Wilverley Plain from the same car park. Find it at the far end of the car park near the picnic area. It is a huge open space and you will be very likely to find lots of ponies grazing here.

Refreshments: Pincic area with tables at the car park (fenced, so no ponies will bother you!) or add on a diversion to The Old Station Tea Rooms, Holmsley. There is often an ice-cream van here in summer. The business owner, who employees six full-time and around half a dozen part-time staff, said Mother's Day was the busiest day in the year.

For the longer walk turn right along a narrow earth path through trees and after 150 metres ignore a path off to the left. Dogs: Yes, you may meet ponies or cattle if you divert to the tearoom. We have heard there is an activity trail for dogs just through the gate onto Wilverley Plain.

There are many appealing areas of heathland and pine woodland in the south west corner of the New Forest and running through them is the Castleman’s Corkscrew. Mr Jensen, 53, has made every effort to help customers plot a route to the venue, including moving the business's location on Google so the company's map software provides a useable route. Go through the gate and turn left then sharp left again to keep the Inclosure and old embankment on the left. The New Forest is a patchwork of different wildlife habitats, so keep an eye open for its less obvious inhabitants – birds and bees or even wild roe deer at certain times of the day.

Along the way

With toilets and picnic tables, Wilverley Inclosure makes a good choice for families wanting to enjoy a day in the forest. There is a clear, way marked loop around the inclosure that is suitable for pushchairs and suits all abilities of walkers. We have added an optional extension to the loop, which will take you across moorland to The Old Station Tearooms at Holmsley. This diversion is more challenging in the terrain and does involve crossing a relatively busy road. Distance: 4.3 km for the loop around the inlclosure (add another 2 km to walk to The Old Station Tearoom) After a further 450 metres, pass another small copse on the left, another set of level crossing gateposts partially concealed by vegetation, and the remains of the associated railway crossing keeper's cottage - number 13. Cross a narrow, valley-bottom stream - it's usually dry in summer - and follow the equally narrow but fairly obvious path uphill beside the left-hand woodland edge - there is open heathland on the right-hand side here.