By Richard Charles Kenchington Footpath Secretary of the Eastleigh Ramblers A walk across Hampshire from Portchester to Winchester 1 Version 4 January 2018 © Richard Charles Kenchington FRICS IRRV (Hons) 2 Pavilion Close, Fair Oak, Eastleigh, Hampshire SO50 7PS All communications by email to [email protected] CONTENTS Introduction Tribute to Allan King Stage 1 - Portchester Station to the Castle Stage 2 - Portchester Castle to Downend Stage 3 - Downend to Nelson’s Monument Stage 4 - Nelson’s Monument to B2177 Roman Road Stage 5 - B2177 Roman Road to World’s End Stage 6 - World’s End to Soberton Stage 7 - Soberton to Hillpound Stage 8 - Hillpound to Bishop’s Waltham Stage 9 - Bishop’s Waltham to Upham Stage 10 - Upham to Cheesefoot Head Stage Eleven - Cheesefoot Head to Tichborne Stage 12 - Tichborne to Itchen Stoke Stage 13 - Itchen Stoke to Itchen Abbas Stage 14 - Itchen Abbas to Kings Worthy Stage Fifteen - Kings Worthy to Winchester 2 INTRODUCTION It gives me great pleasure to introduce this guide to the Allan King Way. The project to establish this walk was undertaken in the first half of the nineties by the Hampshire Area of the Ramblers’ Association and lots of people were involved. It is now a feature of Ordnance Survey sheets and the route is well waymarked. The first guidebook that was published in 1995 by the Hampshire Area of the Ramblers’ Association and Paul Cave Publications Limited. This new book of the route is being made available to you free of charge over the Internet through the Eastleigh Ramblers. Unlike a printed booklet the Internet offers the opportunity to revise and republish the book as often as is necessary to keep the route descrip- tions up to date. So if you spot something that needs changing let me know (contact details on the previous page) and make sure that you are using the latest version by checking on the Hampshire Rights of Way Improvement Trust web site - http://www.hrowit.org.uk If the version number (on previous page) changes before the decimal point it means there has been a route change, after the decimal point the route descrip- tion has been updated. I hope to be adding maps over the coming weeks when time permits. If anyone has a better photograph of Allan King I would appreciate the opportunity to reproduce it. The route is maintained by Hampshire County Council’s Countryside Service and the owners of the land over which it traverses and a thank you is due to them for all their efforts in this regard. I hope that you will take the opportunity of becoming a member of the Ramblers’ Association and support the work that they do in ensuring that we all have access to the countryside for recreation and bringing issues that affect walkers to the attention of central and local govern- ment. There are over a thousand walks organised by the Groups in Hampshire every year and together with this guide book there are loads of opportunities to get out walking, keeping fit and meeting up with oth- er walkers .Richard Kenchington 3 The Allan King Way and this guidebook is dedicated to the memory of Allan King who worked voluntarily for the Hampshire Area of the Ram- blers’ Association as Publicity Officer. His way of increasing member- ship was to embark upon a programme of establishing more Groups located in East Hampshire, Bishop’s Waltham, Romsey and Southsea, and Eastleigh, His sudden death at the age of 59 was a tragic loss but his legacy is these thriving groups who have been organising walks all over the County Allan loved and beyond. I came to know him when he approached the Southampton Group to agree to the creation of the Eastleigh Group out of their territory and I left the Southampton Committee to set up the Group with Allan’s guid- ance. Following his methodology we had an inaugural meeting which he chaired and inspired with his optimism. A Steering Committee was formed from the initial 25 members who lived in the Borough of Eastleigh and I became the Chairman for the first ten years. Unfortu- nately he died soon after the Group was formed and we never got to formerly thank him for his efforts. What finer tribute can there be for a Rambler than to join a select band of walkers who have a long distance path named after you. This is my way of saying thank you to Allan by keeping that walk alive and I am sure it will not disappoint you - Richard Kenchington 4 STAGE ONE - 1.28 MILES PORTCHESTER STATION TO THE CASTLE If you are doing this as a linear walk making the start Portchester Sta- tion avoids having to leave a car here and at the other end there is a rail- way station as well. From whichever platform you arrive you have a descent down a ramp to the same road which goes under the railway. On reaching it turn right along it going south. After 75 metres cross over the road to the footway on the other side and continue in the same direction towards the roundabout ahead. In reaching it follow the foot- way around to the left and take the ramp down to the underpass under the A27 and then take the ramp on the right back up again and go straight on. You pick up Castle Street as you bend left. You pass As- sheton Court on the right and The Keep on the left. Just around a left hand bend in Castle Street take a minor no through road called Cow Lane on the left opposite Castle Primary School. Less than 100 metres of the Lane are open to vehicles, bear right along a narrower section of the Lane at a metal barrier (not straight on through it) and at the very end there is a metal kissing gate. Go through this and you are into a footpath running between the back gardens of the properties in Castle Street on the right and fenced off fields to the left. Follow this enclosed path for about 350 metres until after passing through another metal kissing gate you reach the end of a concrete road- way coming from Castle Street which is to your right to a recreation ground which is to your left. Turn left at this point and immediately fork left (almost straight on) heading towards the sea wall visible ahead. 5 6 On reaching it and the shoreline follow it to the right. The water on your left is the tidal creek called Portchester Lake and Portchester Cas- tle can be seen ahead. Keep to the sea wall as it turns left and then right, the path narrows and then you arrive at the Castle walls. Follow the shoreline going clockwise around the outside of the Castle. (At a gate- way in the east wall you can access the Castle grounds and the church inside it.) As you turn right to follow the outside of the south wall Port- smouth, Gosport and the Isle of Wight can be seen across the harbour. STAGE TWO - 2.63 MILES (TOTAL 3.91 MILES) PORTCHESTER CASTLE TO DOWNEND Half way along the south wall bear left away from it to keep to the shoreline. After 100 metres you need to pass to the left of a concrete block wall and a property with frontage to the shore. The shore path will take you in about 80 metres to the end of Hospital Lane. [Should the path be underwater at high tide return a few yards and walk to- wards the Castle walls and continue to follow them clockwise along the west wall and just before reaching the Castle Keep you will reach a roadway leading to a gate in the west wall. Turn left along it walking away from the Castle. Pass Waterside Lane on the right (which leads to a car park and toilets) and at an oak tree in an island in the road turn left down Hospital Lane until you reach the shoreline. To the left you can see the short section you avoided here go right] Continue by follow- ing the path along the top of the sea wall which is fenced off from the roadway to the right. Pass over the entrance to a small yacht basin next 7 8 to a castellated house and you come out into some open space with a shoreline path made of blocks. You are now looking up another creek called Fareham Lake. At the oth- er end of the open space you again need to use a path on the seaward side of shoreline properties and it is the first 50 metres that could be un- derwater at very high tide after which the shore path is on the top of a sea wall. [In the event of of high tide turn right when you reach the end of the green onto the nearby road and then turn left and then immedi- ately right along Lansdowne Avenue. At a T junction turn left and fol- low Merton Crescent crossing Merton Avenue and at a T junction turn left along Grove Avenue and at the end of the road you will have re- turned to the shoreline only 200 metres west of where you had the high tide problem.] The shoreline path leads into more open space and at the end of it con- tinue on the shore path initially between the shore on the left and houses after which there is yet more open space.