As well as Wilverley Inclosure, you can also enjoy Wilverley Plain from the same car park. Find it at the far end of the car park near the picnic area. It is a huge open space and you will be very likely to find lots of ponies grazing here. Follow the level path going straight ahead and ignore the path to the left. Keep straight at a junction with a bench and then look out for a little cast iron sign on the floor to your left detailing some dates in the inclosure’s history. Keep going and you will come to a downhill section, where the path crosses a stream, before it rises again to a bench. Keep going on the same path. The walk route leaves Burley car park in a south-easterly direction and initially crosses gently undulating, open heathland before passing over Holmsley Bog on a raised section of path. The remains of Greenberry Bridge are reached from where the course of Castleman's Corkscrew, a dismantled railway line, is followed westwards. The business owner, who employees six full-time and around half a dozen part-time staff, said Mother's Day was the busiest day in the year.

Dogs: Yes, you may meet ponies or cattle if you divert to the tearoom. We have heard there is an activity trail for dogs just through the gate onto Wilverley Plain. With toilets and picnic tables, Wilverley Inclosure makes a good choice for families wanting to enjoy a day in the forest. There is a clear, way marked loop around the inclosure that is suitable for pushchairs and suits all abilities of walkers. We have added an optional extension to the loop, which will take you across moorland to The Old Station Tearooms at Holmsley. This diversion is more challenging in the terrain and does involve crossing a relatively busy road.The old railway line passes through attractive areas of heathland and pine woodland, a unique landscape where you might come across a group of wild ponies. The New Forest is a patchwork of different wildlife habitats, so keep an eye open for its less obvious inhabitants – birds and bees or even wild roe deer at certain times of the day.

The walk is mostly graveled but subject to quite a bit of waterlogging especially at the Burbush car park end, so wellies are a must except in the driest possible conditions. There are water courses too all along the route so dogs that stray from the path will get dirty! Distance: 4.3 km for the loop around the inlclosure (add another 2 km to walk to The Old Station Tearoom)

'Soul destroying': Tea rooms suffering 'on another level' due to A35 closure

Hampshire County Council has said "special provision will be made" on March 27 to make it easier for customers. The road closures are due to come to an end on April 8. We all understand it is work that needs doing and it is for the greater good but we have not been able to plan or have an understanding of what is going ahead," said Mr Jensen. Fallow deer and roe deer are also present and are most often seen early and late in the day, whilst wild flowers, butterflies, dragonflies, damselflies and reptiles add considerable further interest.