Salcey Forest

Ever since the age of 8 when I moved to the UK, forests have held a particular fascination for me. You see, there aren't any forests in Hong Kong (unless you count forests of skyscrapers), so when I first discovered them I was amazed at what fantastic playgrounds they are. There's no end to the things you can do in a forest, like climbing trees, building dens, lifting up rocks to look for weird insects... I could go on for hours!



So the choice of where to go wandering today wasn't too difficult. After hearing about Salcey Forest a couple of weeks ago I've just been waiting for a fair weather day to go walkabout in the woods. The weather today couldn't have been better. A clear crisp October morning that began frosty but was soon warmed by the low Autumn sun.



Although not technically in Milton Keynes (it actually falls within Northamptonshire county), it's only about 7 miles North of Newport Pagnell, near the village of Hartwell. The main car park seems to get incredibly busy at the weekends and they charge £2 for the privilege of parking there, so we opted for the horse box car park at the other end of the forest, which is much quieter and free to use, so it's certainly well worth the effort as long as you don't mind the 5 mile round trip to hike to the more interesting parts of the forest.



There are numerous walking trails ranging from 0.75 to 6 miles, a 5 mile cycle trail and a horse trail, most of which offer circular routes beginning and ending at the main car park where there is also a café and children's playground. The picture above shows part of the Elephant Walk, so called because it passes by the Elephant Pond over which this beautiful suspension bridge passes suspended from an arrow that seems to have been caught midflight having been shot out of the pond itself.



The most impressive construction in the forest however, has to be the Treetop Walk. Constructed in 2005 it was a finalist in the 2006 Prime Minister's Better Public Building Award. The walk begins at ground level and follows a gentle incline through the trees to a height of 20 metres above ground from where you can enjoy a view over the treetops to the city of Northampton.



Oh, and I haven't told you the best bit yet... there's absolutely no traffic noise when you're in the heart of the forest, so you can wander around feeling like you really are in the countryside!

For more information on Salcey Forest including maps and directions, visit the Forestry Commission website.