Castleman Trail - Brockenhurst To Ringwood On A Fatbike

I wanted to see how far you could actually travel on the Castleman Trail as it follows a disused railway track.

It was once part of the Southampton to Dorchester railway line, built in the mid 1800's by a Wimborne solicitor called Charles Castleman and the line gained the nickname the Castleman Corkscrew on account of the winding route it took.

The views by train would of been lovely, I can only imagine the revenue this train ride would attract if it were in operation today!

Closed by Dr Beeching in 1964 as part of the railway reform.

Sections of it have been turned into very good gravel cycle tracks, but there are parts that are impassable and totally overgrown.

I wondered if it was possible to  follow the old track and see if you could actually get through.

I saw a couple of original railway houses on my trip, I think this was the best example.

The trail for me starts just outside of Brockenhurst on the Sway road.



If you look bang in the centre of the map between where the two railway lines merge and is written B3055 there is a gravel track that leads off to the left.

This is the start of the trail.

The plan was simple, see how far I could get, so I headed off along the track.

This first section of trail takes you through the centre of Setthorns Campsite, and eventually ends up just North of Wootton Bridge.

Here the trail is non existent, you have to then follow the road to Burley till you get to Holmsley Tea Rooms which was the old Station House.




Here you can pick up the trail again, this time it takes you over the road "Holmesley Passage" and as far as Burdbush Car Park.




You can still see the old track on the other side of Pound Lane, however it is totally impassable even by foot. Thick vegetation and water has reclaimed the track completely.

I decided to try and cycle across the forest using an old track which ran along side the old railway line. I got as far as the next bridge, crossing it I continued but eventually came across a fence and marsh land.




This was as far as I could get by bike, I was on the North side of the old track.

You could probably get a little further along on the South side, but as you can see on the map it leads to a very marshy area with what appears to be a small pond.

I then followed the gravel track South and eventually found my way to Avon Tyrrell Outdoor Activity Centre.

Getting back onto tarmac I headed for the next likely place to pick up the trail.

This was on Barrack Lane just South East of Crow.



Here I followed the trail which took me to the edge of Ringwood.

Unfortunately as you follow the trail under Crow Arch Lane it takes you onto waste land.

Followed shortly by a dead end which is where the cars are parked.

I could of climbed over a style to get out by decided that I had done enough for the day.



The weather was closing in and looked as if it was going to pour with rain, so I retraced my path and headed directly for home.

Total distance travelled was 50.5km, it did stay dry all the way home with just a few spots.

All in all a good ride, it is such a shame that the trail could not be complete, it would make a cracking ride, and a safe and easy ride from Ringwood into the New Forest.