Submarine
Pens in the middle of the New Forest?
During
the Second World War this area was the Ashley Walk Bombing Range. The RAF
brought back evidence that the Germans were building vast structures of
reinforced concrete to house their submarines. This knowledge led to a massive
reinforced concrete raft, 6ft thick, 79ft by 70ft being built of high quality
concrete, for the purpose of testing. It is supported on five equidistant walls
6ft high on a foundation 20 inches thick. In 1942 this cost £250,000!
During
the clear up of the area, after the war, this structure proved to be
indestructible and so had to be buried. Today it is marked as a Tumulus on an OS
map.
As you
walk to the top of the ‘Pens’ you will be able to see some of the reinforced
concrete. When at the top look around and you will see many small depressions,
these are the remains of bomb craters. To the NW (about 100 metres) there is a
larger crater. This is where the only ‘Grand Slam’ bomb (22000lb) was dropped
on test and exploded. It created a crater 100ft in diameter and 70ft in depth.
Today it is marked by a large growth of reeds in a slight depression.
Parking
is available at:
Ashley
Walk GR 186157, Abbots Well GR 177128, Fritham GR 230141
All
routes are firm gravel to within 100 metres of the cache.
This is
a beautiful area and on a clear day the views are superb, so bring a picnic and
spend some time here. Whilst setting the cache we saw 15 deer nearby.
This
cache is placed under the agreement
between the GAGB and Forestry Commission in the New Forest.