Walking in Headbourne Worthy and Kings Worthy
We are extremely fortunate that in both villages there is an extensive network of public footpaths. In Kings Worthy many are paved and linked so that you can walk across the village without crossing too many busy roads. Most of these paths seem to converge at the primary school, enabling parents and children to have a healthy walk with a safe beginning and end to the day. In Headbourne Worthy there are eleven unsurfaced footpaths within the parish that have been in use for many years. The more regularly used routes, which are off School Lane to St Swithun’s church and also through the watercress beds at Bedfield Lane, are regularly trimmed and maintained.
Into The Countryside
For those that enjoy walking a bit further afield there are unsurfaced footpaths that lead to the beautiful countryside that surrounds the Worthys and link with Hampshire’s network of long distance footpaths, byways and bridleways.
These routes start from near The King Charles Pub and also Hookpit Farm Lane besides Tesco Express in Kings Worthy. In Headbourne Worthy, there is a route (HCC FP2) from Andover Road, just north of its junction with Wellhouse Lane, across the fields to Down Farm Lane, under the A34 northwards towards South Wonston and beyond. There are useful map boards by the King Charles Pub and beside St. Mary’s Church together with a leaflet showing paths available from the Kings Worthy Parish Office.
By The River
For those who enjoy walking by water courses and rivers, again we are extremely fortunate in having the glorious River Itchen flowing adjacent to the South East boundary of both villages. The Itchen is renowned as one of the world’s finest and cleanest chalk streams. As the stream rises from the ground rather than running off the surface of the fields, it is usually crystal clear, has a constant temperature and a gravelly bed. This makes the area ideal for fly-fishing and watercress growing. In earlier times the constantly flowing water was used to power a sawmill in Kings Worthy, grind corn in Itchen Abbas and process cloth at Fulling Mill, Easton.
It is possible to get to the centre of Winchester along the popular Nuns Walk, starting from besides St Mary’s Church; this is part of the 112 mile route taken by pilgrims on their journey from Winchester to Canterbury. Today the route passes under the A34, along the valley alongside a stream emerging in the city, alongside the Itchen at the Recreation Centre and North Walls.
There is a choice of routes from Abbots Worthy upstream, passing under the M3 to Easton, Itchen Abbas and Alresford, with plenty of opportunities for refreshments on or close to the routes.
We aim to suggest more walks on this web site so please bookmark the site and visit it regularly for updates. If you would like more information on other walks in the area and the wider Hampshire countryside, then please use these useful external links:
www.hampshireramblers.hampshire.org.uk
www.hants.gov.uk/walking
www.walkinginhants.co.uk |
