Wayfarer’s Way, 70 miles, 4 walking days, April 2010

Emsworth – Droxford (Meonstoke) – Brown Candover (Totford) – White Hill (Kingsclere) – Inkpen Beacon

At 70 miles, the Wayfarer’s Way is Hampshire’s longest long-distance path travelling the whole of the county almost due north from Emsworth on the south coast to Inkpen Beacon just over the Hampshire/Berkshire border in the north. We walked this trail in the Spring of 2010 when flowers were blooming and lambs frolicking. Highlights included: passing by the ruins of Warblington Castle; experiencing the fine views over Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight from Portsdown Hill; walking along a disused railway track and, later, through the intriguingly named Betty Munday’s Bottom; passing by the majestic Hinton Ampner House; crossing the site of the 1644 Battle of Cheriton between the Roundheads and the Cavaliers during the English civil war; wandering through the Arlebury Park wetlands teeming with wild life; lingering in the pretty village of Dummer (many thatched houses); crossing Watership Down (yes, the Watership Down); catching glimpses of Highclere Castle; and finally standing underneath Combe Gibbet on Inkpen Beacon and reflecting on the fate of George Broomham and Dorothy Newman, the adulterous murderous lovers caught close by, the only pair to have been hung on the gibbet.

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