Ocknell

Ocknell Enclosure (1775) always appears to have a different air to anywhere else in the forest, a strange eerie place, no matter what the season, what the time of day or weather, the woods have a foreboding feel, most unnerving, as if you're being watched by unseen eyes. Although a planned enclosure, the mature oaks and Beech have a wild feel, interspersed with Birch and Holly the woods have taken on a natural aspect. At the Northern edge of the woods are the head waters of Highland water, later to become the Lymington River; where these waters meet the main track passing through the wood, a fallen tree, fallen many years ago, yet still budding each spring. The trunk of this recumbent tree is covered in graffiti, more so then any trunk yet encountered. The marks left cut into the bark range from the 1980's to present and probably represent bored youth staying at the nearby Ocknell Camp Site, part of the former Stoney Cross Airfield.