Cheesefoot Head to Owslebury - all the way!

1st June 2009

Park at Cheesefoot Head car park on the A272

I couldn't get to Owslebury from the south, so I came at it from the north! There it sits on its hill in the sunlight defying me, viewed from the South Downs/Kings Way.

I'd originally planned to follow the same route at the start as I had taken previously from Cheesefoot Head. However, part of the route goes along a bridleway through MOD land so I chose to do the walk in reverse from that planned so that if the red flags were out I had time to adapt the route at the start, rather than having to cobble something together at the end.

So, I struck out north westward along the South Downs Way towards Winchester with panoramic views to the south and west. The top of the Spinnaker Tower, Portsdown Science Station, the Isle of Wight, Fawley Tower and Southampton squatting by the River.

As the path wound up and around towards Chilcomb, the view north opened up and the Intech Science Centre came into view beside a lovely Down that has no Access.

There's a choice of footpaths down into Chilcomb. I chose a path through the barley field and down through a well sign-posted woodland. Note for the future: going along wooded paths, put on insect repellent!

Chilcomb is very small and very pretty and there is an 11th century Church at its southernmost tip just before the lane becomes a bridlepath and heads up through a gate into the MOD land.

I visited the church, which is tiny and very peaceful. They have a birdgate to prevent birds flying into the church and a polite notice asking walkers to remove muddy boots. After signing the book and taking a couple of photographs I continued up to the gate.

The red flag was down and the gate standing open. I took that as a sign and as I didn't get shot at I guess it was OK. The bridlepath goes up through more lovely woodland with views over the shooting range below and out across a field up to Morestead Race-track, otherwise known as Morestead Road which comes down into Winchester further on. It was about 6.15pm. The tail-end of the rush hour.

Cross the lane (at a run!) and on to White Lane, a footpath that passes through trees and past open fields. It was all beautiful on this particular day as the sun was beginning to fall to the west and the young green crops and grass and trees were shot with gold.

White Lane comes to a crossroad with Pilgrim's Way coming down from Twyford Down. Turn left here and walk past the wide wheatfields and the racehorse hurdles. Continue down between pasture returning to Morestead Lane and cross over into Mare Lane. This is a quiet road through a veritable tunnel of trees all the way up.

I paused at the signpost on to Monarch's Way which here goes down to Twyford Village and then continued on my way to Owslebury.

At the junction of Mare Lane, Whites Hill across from this, and Hatchers Lane crossing them both, there is an excellent path through a large wheatfield. Towards the far side in front of a hedge was a deer grazing and as I was downwind of it I got quite close before it saw me and shot off through the hedge. Which way my path also lay, climbing steeply between another cropfield and a paddock. The deer was now standing in the middle of the second cropfield watching me. I took some photographs and the last I saw of him, he was picking his way through the field back to the hedge.

At the top of the path there were new-planted trees and the path came out across a farmyard, between pony paddocks and further on between a school and a house, coming down to the road through Owslebury.

The village is small and rather ordinary. I continued out of the village eastwards and turned up the lane just beyond the edge of the village. I was looking for the pub and it's quite easy to miss if you don't know it's there. It's a house with the word "Arms" in its name. I only know it's there because it's where we stopped with horse-box and horses many years ago to ride up Fawley Down.

I continued on up the road to find the bridleway which on the map is called Staggs Lane. It comes once again to Morestead Road, which by now was much quieter being around 7pm.

Across the road is Honeyman Lane, another bridleway up through trees which comes to a crossroads with Warren Lane. Over the crossing, Honeyman Lane becomes the King's Way once more, but I chose to turn left along the permissive cycle track past the Old Down Plantations.

I checked out the field where I had once before failed to find the footpath through as it had been overgrown with dead bean plants. Today, the path was clearly marked through the crop.

On along the greenway and out through the gate on to the hard stony path through the fields of corn and rape.

The sun was by now hanging golden an hour above the west horizon. Any clouds there had been were fled. And the green fields were glowing gold in the lovely evening light.

3 1/2 hours and weary legs later back to the car.