Our verdict
One of the biggest, most open heath compartments in the forest, with genuine space to roam off the main tracks — a good pick if the Sika Trail car park itself feels too busy. Ground-nesting Dartford warblers and nightjars mean dogs need to stay on the main tracks (or on a lead) through the spring and summer nesting season.
A four-square-mile stretch of heathland forming the core of Wareham Forest, roughly midway between the Stroud Bridge and Sugar Hill car parks, home to the Iron Age Woolsbarrow hillfort on its western edge.