Savernake Forest – the only privately-owned Forest in Britain – will be closed to all vehicles for the day on the first working day of the year, Tuesday January 2nd.
In order to preserve the private status of all the roads through the Forest, the law requires owners to physically close them from first light to last light on one day a year.
So all roads, including the Grand Avenue, the longest Avenue in Britain at 4.2 miles, will be barriered for the day by the Savernake Estate and their tenants the Forestry Commission, with all cars (bar Forest residents, the Postman, etc) being turned away.
The Earl of Cardigan said: “We recognise that this is an inconvenience for a lot of people, which is why we do it in the depths of Winter when as few people as possible are around. But there is a ‘plus’. Dog-walkers will be asked to park at the barriers and then walk on in. Once they have done that they will find a wonderful silent and virtually traffic-free Forest, just for this one day a year”.