Walks for all Ages in Hampshire Guidebook

by: Hugh Taylor and Moira McCrossan
Hampshire has pretty villages, clear rivers, ancient cities and the New Forest. You can walk through thousands of years of English history, surveying the marks that generations have made on the land. Iron Age forts were re-used as Roman settlements, which decayed when the Romans left but became prosperous again under Alfred the Great, only to fall to the conquering Normans. Winchester has traces of all this history from Iron Age forts to Norman cathedrals. You can still see the ground plan of the Saxon Old Minster alongside the massive Norman cathedral.

In the cathedral you will find the grave of Jane Austen, one of the most admired English writers of all time. She loved Hampshire and spent most of her life here. You can visit her home in the village of Chawton. This countryside has inspired many writers over the years. Richard Adams based Watership Down on Hampshire's rolling farmland and you can walk past Nuthanger Farm, which features in the book.

The New Forest was created by William, the Conqueror, William Rufus's father, as a royal hunting ground. The pastureland and heathland in the National Park are the result of continued grazing by the horses and cattle of the commoners over the centuries. The park has the largest remaining area of common land in England, where the famed New Forest ponies graze everywhere, including by roadsides and over garden fences.

Each walk begins with a description of the local area, followed by fully detailed route instructions. Full colour Ordnance Survey 1:25000 scale Explorer mapping supports the text and there are snippets of useful information as you go along. The book also has lots of colour photographs throughout. At the beginning of each walk practical information listed includes distance, gradient, difficulty, approximate time, number of stiles, OS Explorer map number, path description, start point grid reference, parking information, suitability for dogs and local refreshment facilities and public toilets.

The walk locations are:
Ecchinswell - 2.5 miles
Winchfield - 3.75 miles
Odiham - 5.75 miles
Grayshott - 2 miles
Liphook - 3.75 miles
Silchester - 3.25 miles
Chawton - 4.75 miles
Burley - 3.75 miles
North Poulner - 4.5 miles
Brockenhurst - 3.75 miles
Nether Wallop - 2 miles
Romsey - 4.75 miles
Southampton - 3.75 miles
Botley - 2.5 miles
Lymington - 5 miles
Boldre - 2.25 miles
Brook - 3.5 miles
Alresford - 3.5 miles
Alton - 2.5 miles
Winchester - 3.25 miles

ISBN 9781910551424 Pages 96 (2017) 120mm x 220mm