We thought that it would be a good idea to arrange a few events in advance so we've started off with May and hope to add walks and talks throughout the summer.

First up is a charity walk on Fri 13th from Anderwood car park (on the road between Burley and Lyndhurst). This will go through the glorious ancient beech woods of Mark Ash and then continue through to Acres Down with its high-level views across the New Forest before coming down to the pub at Emery Down. After a pleasant stop at the pub we will meander back to the Reptile Centre where, in addition to the snakes and lizards etc, there is an RSBP nestcam to have a look at. From there we will walk to the famous Knightwood Oak before returning to our start point. Total distance is approx 10 miles though it could be possible to arrange a "half walk" if you would rather do 5 miles by leaving a car at the pub and getting a lift to the start. This walk will include members of Milford Tennis Club and part of their fee will go to club funds but all other money raised will go to the Childrens Leukaemia and Cancer Group. Minimum donation is £7.50 .... but you can give more!! You can book in advance via any of the contact details or just turn up on the day.

Next, on Sunday 22nd May we are doing a Dawn Chorus walk at Bolderwood. Bit of an early start at 6am but well worth it if we get to hear and see a variety of birds plus a special time of day to be in the Forest - also we should see deer at that time of the morning. Theresa is very knowledgeable on most aspects of natural history, especially birds, (and has better hearing than me!) so it should be good. And when we finish we have the option of going down to Lyndhurst where Ray at the Tea rooms will be pleased to serve us a well-deserved breakfast! Cost is £5 each with under 12's going free if accompanied by an adult (one child per adult).

Finally, for May, on Saturday 28th we have a new venture in the form of a pony walk/talk. Sarah owns a New Forest pony herself and is a great enthusiast of the breed and its history and the plan is to walk through Roydon Woods to a stud farm where we will see this year's foals with their mares and where Sarah will tell you all them. The walk itself is very pleasant and is about 5 miles in total, starting and finishing at the Filly Inn car park (on the A337 near Brockenhurst). We start the walk at 2pm. Cost is £5 each with under 12's going free if accompanied by an adult (one child per adult).

All the above can be booked in advance which is preferable so that we have an idea of numbers. However you can just turn up on the day - we will only turn people away if the numbers get too high which is unlikely.

We will be planning some more events in June so watch this space!