SO43 7GR SU 2653 0650 Found along the Ornamental Drive, on the A35 Christchurch Road from Lyndhurst – after 3 miles take the Bolderwood turning, and it is first car park on left At over
SO43 7GR SU 2653 0650
Found along the Ornamental Drive, on the A35 Christchurch Road from Lyndhurst – after 3 miles take the Bolderwood turning, and it is first car park on left
At over 500 years old the Knightwood Oak is believed to be the oldest tree in the New Forest, planted in about 1600 and is also known as the Queen of the Forest. With a girth of almost 8 metres this tree may appear less majestic than you would anticipate as it has been subject to pollarding, which creates many branching trunks. This practice was a common means of harvesting wood without killing the tree and only ceased in the New Forest with the introduction of the 1698 Act for the Increase & Preservation of Timber in the New Forest – for Royal Navy shipbuilding at nearby Bucklers Hard.
The Knightwood Oak is still living and growing and is enclosed in a fenced area and this pedunculate oak is regarded as a perfect example of pollarding.
Only a five-minute waymarked walk from the car park along gravel paths this is an accessible stroll and easy for pushchairs and wheelchairs. With benches and plenty of fallen logs to sit on it is a lovely picnic spot and not far from other good places to visit and explore such as the reptile centre, Bolderwood with its deer and the Tall Trees walk and Arboretum at Blackwater.