Savernake Forest will be closed to the public for one day – Thursday 2 January.
This is to preserve the private status of the Forest’s roads, the law requires them to be closed for one day every year, and, consistent with past years the chosen day is the first working day of the New Year.
All car access to the Forest’s 4,500 acres will be blocked off by manned barriers, including Capability Brown’s 3.9 mile Grand Avenue, the longest Avenue in Britain, which is the main private road through the Forest.
A spokesman for the Savernake Estate said ”We recognise this is something of an inconvenience to people who regularly drive through the forest, many of whom are dog-walkers. But actually for them this will be the best day of the year (especially given the very mild weather forecast) because of the total absence of car traffic, as well as the fact that the Forest will be totally silent that day”.