Hamble Rail Trail

Today we headed over to the Royal Victoria Country Park to walk the Hamble Rail Trail, which follows the route of the now disused railway built to connect Manchester and Hamble towards the end of WW2.

The path starts at the Royal Victoria Country Park, where we paid £4 to park for the day, and follows alongside the old railway, mainly on woodland tracks which, whilst rather muddy, were flat and easy to follow.

The old railway fixtures are still in place, but are showing their age as they were last operated in the 80's.

The railway terminates at the BP oil terminal, where the best preserved piece of track disappears out of reach and into the industrial site.

The oil terminal, and nearby industrial units weren't the most scenic, but the footpath along the waterfront was well maintained.

The beach was popular with both local birds and local dog-walkers

And the water itself was host to a flotilla of small boats

Our walk ended back in the Royal Victoria Country Park at the site of the old military hospital. The only remaining part of the structure is the Chapel, which is currently closed for refurbishment.

All-in-all we had a pleasant hour-and-a-half walk and celebrated with a cup of tea and a cake at the Park's cafe.

Statistics:

Total Walk Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Walking Conditions: Easy and Flat, muddy in places, pebble beach for about 15 mins
Cost: £4 to part at RVCP. Could park for free on the roads outside the park or start from one of the other car-parks marked on the maps below.

Useful Links:

Hamble Rail Trail Maps & Guides:
http://www.hamblevalley.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/HV-Rail-Trail10-LR.pdf
http://www.hamblevalley.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Hamble-Rail-Trail-Walking-Leaflet.jpg

Royal Victoria County Park Website
http://www3.hants.gov.uk/countryside/countryside-service/country-parks/rvcp.htm

Royal Victoria Country Park - Trip Advisor
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g790308-d216074-Reviews-Royal_Victoria_Country_Park_Chapel-Netley_Hampshire_England.html

The Bargeman's Walk

Today we walked the Bargeman's Walk, laid out in a convenient leaflet available from the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust website as part of their Itchen Navigation Project.

The walk took us up to Mansbridge Lock (via a sneaky detour to the White Swan Carver for lunch) where the water was completely frozen and stones could be skipped along the river with satisfying ease. 

We then continued on to the Mansbridge Reservoir, which was only mostly frozen - where this spade came from I have no idea, but it's not often you see one sitting in the middle of the lake!

The local birds seemed unfazed by the ice, happily hopping in and out, and their feathers added a bit of variety to the smooth icy surface.

After visiting the reservoir we looped back though a residential area and emerged by St Mary's Church in Swaythling. The church is one of Southampton's two remaining Medieval Church, parts of which date back to the 12th Century. I must have driven past this church hundreds of times, but this is the first time I have have stopped to visit it, and it's rather lovely.

Statistics:

Total Walk Time: 1 hour
Walking Conditions: Easy and Flat, muddy in places.
Cost: £Nil. Free parking readily available.

Useful Links:

Walk Leaflet from the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust:

http://www.winningwaysforwildlife.org.uk/sites/default/files/files/Living%20Landscapes/Itchen/Bargemans_Walk.pdf

St Mary's Church
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Mary's_Church,_South_Stoneham
The White Swan Carvery
http://www.greatbritishcarvery.co.uk/our-pubs/white-swan

Riverside Park

A bit of a 'cheat' walk, as it's our local park, but we took a walk through Riverside Park at sunset today. 

From the car park by Woodmill cross the road and turn left to follow the footpath along Woodmill Road. At the mini-roundabouts turn left to follow Forest Hills Drive then River Walk. At the end of River Walk turn left into the park, then left again to follow the river back to Woodmill. 

Cross the road at Woodmill and continue straight into the park bearing right to follow the river (which is largely out of sight behind the trees) and continue along the edge of the park towards the Cobden Bridge. When you reach the large wooden-fort playground follow the fork to the left and loop back towards the start, past the model railway, then retrace your steps until you reach a path branching right across the playing fields. Turn left at the end towards the skate park, then left again to return to the road at Woodmill and cross over to return to the car park.

The loop is about 4km and takes about 45mins, or an hour at a more leisurely pace, and is on well maintained footpaths and level ground.

Parking is free, and if Woodmill car park is full there are two more car parks on Manor Farm Road.

Statistics:

Total Walk Time: 1 hour
Walking Conditions: Easy and Flat, on accessible paved paths.
Cost: £Nil - Free parking readily available.

Useful Websites:

Park Website
https://www.southampton.gov.uk/people-places/parks-open-spaces/parks/riverside.aspx

Park Map
https://www.southampton.gov.uk/Images/Riverside%20Park%20map_tcm63-366731.pdf

Trip Advisor
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g186299-d216070-Reviews-Riverside_Park-Southampton_Hampshire_England.html

Itchen Valley Country Park

We started our weekend walks with a trip to Itchen Valley Country Park, mainly because I wanted to purchase a copy of The Itchen Way guidebook, which is only sold at their gift shop. I doubt we'll ever do the full 10hr walk, but by breaking into smaller pieces we intend to walk the length of the Itchen Navigation this year.

Upon arrival there was plenty of parking and the car park was reasonable at £2.50 for 1-4 hours. A copy of the guidebook was acquired and stashed in the car and we headed into the park.

On a slightly soggy January afternoon the park was pleasantly quiet and we decided to walk the 1hr Woods and Meadow Walk. Except I accidentally put us onto the Forest Trail, having mixed up the names. The forest trail was a pleasant wander through the woods on very good paths (several buggies were encountered) and quickly took us back to the car park. The half hour walk-time was pessimistic - we weren't rushing and it took us maybe 15 mins max.

After our little meander we looked at the map(!) and this time did find the Woods and Meadow Walk, which took us across High Hill Field and into the Woodland Nature Reserve - the field was a bit wet, and the woodland was very muddy, but it was a nice little walk - again, the 1hr estimate was a long way out, and it took about 25 mins.

At one end of the Woodland Nature Reserve trail there's a little side track to a viewing platform which overlooks the brick kiln which was discovered on the site in November 2003.

We stopped in at the very reasonably priced cafe on our way for a quick cuppa then headed home. I probably wouldn't drive up here again, because the walks are a little short even for us, but it's only about a 45 minute walk from home so we will probably walk up and back in the summer and try the Meadow Trail.

The map of the park is displayed on boards at the park, freely printable from the Eastleigh BC website (below) and can be purchased in booklet form for 60p from the on-site shop.

As noted above, the estimated walk times were about double what it actually took two adults to stroll around. Perhaps if you were corralling dogs and tiny children it would take the times stated, but otherwise expect to complete the loops a lot more quickly.

In the winter, the park is open from 8am to 7pm and the cafe and visitors center are open from 10:30am to 4:30pm on weekends and school holidays. There is also a Go Ape centre on site for the more adventurous.

Statistics:

Total Walk Time: 45 minutes
Walking Conditions: Easy and Flat, muddy in places.
Cost: £2.50 for 4 hours in car park

Useful Websites:

Eastleigh BC Website:
https://www.eastleigh.gov.uk/sport,-countryside,-parks-culture/countryside/itchen-valley-country-park.aspx

Go Ape:
https://goape.co.uk/days-out/southampton

Trip Advisor:
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g503826-d215554-Reviews-or10-Itchen_Valley_Country_Park-Eastleigh_Hampshire_England.html