The Castleman Trailway is a footpath in Southern England. Portions of the trailway are also used as a

cyclepath Cycling infrastructure is all infrastructure cyclists are allowed to use. Bikeways include bike paths, bike lanes, cycle tracks, rail trails and, where permitted, sidewalks. Roads used by Motor vehicle, motorists are also cycling infrastructu ...

but the middle section from East Wimborne (close to The Old Thatch public house) to the River Allen bridge (just south of

Wimborne Wimborne Minster (often referred to as Wimborne, ) is a market town in Dorset in South West England, and the name of the Church of England church in that town. It lies at the confluence of the River Stour and the River Allen, north of Poole ...

) is not cyclable. One trailhead is on Barrack Lane in Ringwood and the other trailhead is the car park at Upton Country Park. (From here, a cycle path runs along the sea front, all the way to Poole railway station). The entire Castleman Trailway path is waymarked. The path passes through the villages of Ashley Heath, West Moors, Oakley, Broadstone and Upton, as well as Upton Heath and Upton Country Park. The trailway is part of the former

Southampton and Dorchester Railway The Southampton and Dorchester Railway was an English railway company formed to join Southampton in Hampshire with Dorchester in Dorset, with hopes of forming part of a route from London to Exeter. It received Parliamentary authority in 1845 and ...

line which ran from

Brockenhurst Brockenhurst is the largest village by population within the New Forest in Hampshire, England. The nearest city is Southampton some to the North East, while Bournemouth is also nearby, South West. Surrounding towns and villages include Beaul ...

to Hamworthy Junction via Ringwood. It was known as "The Old Road". This circuitous route was promoted in the 19th century by the Wimborne solicitor Charles Castleman, and was chosen because of the need to run through populated areas at a time when Bournemouth was a small village. Many people called it "The Castleman Corkscrew" owing to the number of curves.

Cycle Route

The Castleman Trailway makes up part of the National Cycle Network forming route 25 from Upton Country Park to

and Route 256 from Wimborne to Ringwood. Cyclists at Wimborne are advised to use the newly built cycle track along Leigh Road between Canford Bottom Roundabout and the Willett Arms Pub at Merley. This is because cyclists are forbidden by local landowners at Canford from using the "official" trailway footpath despite the fact that the railway through Wimborne cannot be walked or cycled because it has either been built upon or is private land. The Trailway pauses at Ringwood Bickerley Road then again at Barrack Lane, however it can be picked up again at Burbush south of Burley. To get from Barrack Lane to Burbush cyclists have to follow Crowe Hill, Ringwood Rd and then Pound Lane, this route is difficult to walk owing to the fact there is no pavement. Between Burbush &

makes up National Cycle Network route 2 and is completely off-road with the exception of the 1 mile stretch at Holmsley where cyclists have to share the road with cars going 40mph.

Traffic-free Segments

Upton Country Park, Upton - Oakley Hill, Merley 5.1 miles Oakley Hill, Merley - Uddens Drive, Wimborne (Not the route of the Castleman Railway) 3 miles Uddens Drive, Wimborne - Station Road, West Moors (Not the route of the Castleman Railway) 3 miles Station Road, West Moors - Bickerley Road, Ringwood (Involves crossing Horton Road Level Crossing but there are traffic lights to cross safely) 4.9 miles Embankment Way, Ringwood - Barrack Lane, Ringwood (involves crossing the road multiple times where the railway level crossings would have been) 1 mile Ringwood Road, Sandford - Pound Lane, Burley (Not the route of the Castleman Railway) 4 miles Pound Lane, Burley - Station Road, Holmsley 2 miles Burley Road, Holmsley - Sway Road, Brockenhurst 2.2 miles

Public transport

Using public transport for at least part of their journey means that walkers can plan walks which start and finish at different places, rather than have to circle back to their start point to collect their cars.

Railway

The Trail may be reached from either Hamworthy Train Station or Brockenhurst at either end, using the line that replaced the Castleman route.

Bus services

Morebus Wilts & DorsetCompanies House extract company no 1671355
Wi ...

services X3, X6, 38 all serve Ringwood; X6 serves West Moors; 38 serves the site of Ashley Heath Halt and Trailway. Service 13 serves Wimborne, Canford Bottom, Uddens and Stapehill. Morebus service C16 (limited service: only one journey each direction during college period) travels between the towns of Ringwood, Burley and Brockenhurst and C18 operates from Brockenhurst College to West Moors via Holmsley, Burley, Ringwood, Verwood and Three Legged Cross. Morebus service 125 travels between Ringwood and Burley. Routes 3 and 4 travel between Broadstone and Wimborne; 8 and 9 serve Upton and Country Park and they stop near to Hamworthy Station. The New Forest Tour runs a seasonal bus along multiple routes. The red route travels between Ringwood, Burley and Holmsley. The blue route travels from Burley through Holmsley and Brockenhurst.

References

External links

Dorset County Council: Castleman Trailway LeafletMorebus Bus Timetables and Maps
Footpaths in Dorset Rail trails in England {{Hampshire-geo-stub