Robust Rambles

Section 36

Finchdean to Catherington

Walk Details

Walk Instructions

Greatstone to Gillingham Robust Ramble

Section 36  Out

Finchdean to Catherington

Map: OS Explorer 120 Chichester

Distance: 4.5 miles/ 2.5 hours

Start: The George pub; very limited on road parking or ask at the inn if intending to visit.

Comment: A great start through woods, then fields to Blendworth church. A few moments under the rush and roar of the A3 to Portsmouth, then a pleasant climb up, through woods, to Catherington which manages to stay a world apart from the urban fringes of Portsmouth which press on all sides. Some stiles.

With The George behind, turn right up the road a few paces to a Y-fork at the little village green. Bear left on a road curving out of the village. Opposite the last house, by Ashcroft lane, turn left through a wooden kissing gate by a metal fieldgate. Soon reach a second kissing gate and go up into woods.

At a Y-fork go left, steeply up to the top of the wood. Reach a wooden kissing gate. Do not go through, but turn right onto a permissive path going along the top edge of the wood. Follow this undulating path for some way. Eventually come down to a T-junction with a broad path. Turn left uphill (this is a public footpath).

At the top of the rise reach a clearing at the rear of a house and garden. Here turn sharp right up a bank and into the wood. Keep on for some way.

Finally reach a wooden kissing gate leading out of the wood into a field. Go straight across to the end of trees ahead. Keep on alongside the wood to a wooden kissing gate out to a road. Cross to a stile opposite. Go on in the same direction with a hedge on your right.

At the end of the field cross a stile onto a road. Turn left for 10 metres to a metal fieldgate and broken stile on your right. Cross and go forward on a tractor track.

Pick up a hedge on your right and follow this past a paddock (currently Shetland ponies), and on up the edge of a field (very narrow path pressed into hedge by crop), to a stile by a house at the top. Cross to a road and turn left.

In 20 metres, turn right up a bank and over a stile into a field. Follow the fence on your left to the far side and continue on a wide track between hedges. Soon reach a road in the village of Blendworth.

Turn right a few paces to a stile by a gateway on your left leading into the parking area of a farm conversion (it’s worth visiting the church just up the road before continuing; some excellent Victorian decorative work).

Bear left as you cross the parking area, over to the barn then up the side of Dairy Cottage to a wooden gate at the side. Enter an enclosed path and drop down to a stile.

Cross and go on to enter a wood at the bottom through an old iron gate. On reaching the top continue on a narrow, enclosed path towards the noise of the Portsmouth Road. The path becomes a vehicle drive and arrives at a main road.

Cross the road with care and turn right along the pavement. Soon pass under the concrete overbridge of the A3. Immediately turn left up Enterprise Road. In a few paces go steeply up Down Road. Soon reach a side track with wooden notice announcing Catherington Lith.

Here turn right to be faced by a divergence of two tracks. Bear left on the higher one called Lith Lane. Keep up this lane for ½ mile, ignoring all side and cross tracks. Eventually pass two houses on your left at the top.

Keep forward on the main path by tall wire fencing on your left; always keeping steadily uphill (ignore footpath steeply down off right).

Eventually exit the wood through a wooden kissing gate, and go straight up the field ahead towards trees.

At the top enter Catherington churchyard through a wooden kissing gate. Go down past the church to the lych gate and the road beyond.

Turn left on the road to pass a pond on the left and a picnic site and a car park (height bar) on the right before arriving at The Farmer Inn and the end of the section.

Greatstone to Gillingham Robust Ramble

Section 36  Return

Catherington to Finchdean

Map: OS Explorer 120 Chichester

Distance: 5.5 miles/ 3 hours

Start: The Farmer Inn; car park just opposite or ask at the inn if intending to visit.

Comment: There is no option for the return to Finchdean other than using The Monarch’s Way and The Staunton Way. They make the best of a difficult job but patchy waymarking requires careful attention to mapreading. Some road walking and busy intersections to cross, balanced by a wonderful woodland walk. Some stiles.

With The Farmer Inn behind, turn left down the road for some way, crossing to the raised pavement the other side for safer walking.

Pass Cross Roads Hill road going off right and in a short distance turn right over an ivy-covered stile (take a look at the impressive 18th. century school building opposite in Five Heads Road before turning away).

Over the stile, go up an enclosed path, alongside a paddock and reach a fence to climb over (no footboards). Go on down a drive to a road at a corner.

Immediately turn left, off the road, along a vehicle drive with a hedge on the left and wooden fence on the right, signed ‘The Swallows’ Ham Lane.

Stay on this lane as it passes a pasture (with statues of sheep). It bends a little, to pass a house and stables and continues as a woodland path.

Where this path does a sharp right turn, go left over a stile into a paddock (there are two pylons over on your right). Go straight along the top edge of the paddock with a hedge and wire fence on your left.

Cross a stile in the corner ahead and continue up a large lawned area with hedge and fence now on your right. By two trees reach a stile on your right (ignore wooden gate just beyond). Cross the stile and go up the side of a paddock under power lines.

At the top cross a stile by a metal fieldgate and follow a rough track past a yard and out to a road corner. Bear right onto the road going downhill.

In 150 metres, by a wide tarmac entrance to kennels, reach The Monarch’s Way coming in on the right. Turn left over the road and through a metal barrier into a housing (this is The Monarch’s Way but poorly signed). Go up this road to a T-junction. Cross to continue on a pleasant asphalt path through the estate, to reach a busier road with a Pelican Crossing.

Cross and turn right a few paces, then left up Merchistoun Road. Stay on this for some way. Pass a grassy traffic island, then continue and pass a grassy area over on your left. Soon come to a further grassy area with trees. Near the top of this, turn right into Napier Road.

Where this divides, turn right, then left to reach a busy main road. Turn left a few paces to a pedestrian crossing with a refuge in the middle. Cross over and go down an unmarked path between a house on your left and a technology business on your right.

Soon keep right at railings and drop down through trees with warehouses on the left. Pass a wildlife area on your right (ignore gates into it on the right) and stay on the concrete path down to a road.

Cross to an unobtrusive path opposite with railings on your left. Follow this devious but interesting path around bends and down through trees to eventually emerge at a major junction over the A3 road.

Turn left on a narrow pavement to a slip road down onto the A3. Cross this with care and go on to cross the A3 overbridge. Cross the sliproad coming up at the far side and continue on the road towards Rowland’s Castle.

In 100 metres reach another roundabout. Cross to the far side and turn right on the road going uphill.

In 15 metres, opposite the entrance to a Country Shop, turn left on a path down steps into scrubland. Follow this narrow path through woods (part muddy), to a vehicle track; bear left along to a stile by a metal fieldgate out to a road.

Turn left on the road. In 30 metres, turn right off the road over a stile into a pasture. Go straight ahead to a lone tree, then on to a stile in the corner beyond. Enter woods and continue in a straight line on a pleasant path for a mile, ignore all cross tracks,

Emerge on the edge of a golf course. Go forward across the fairway, bearing very slightly left, then continue by hawthorn bushes. Keep on down a grassy space, then on up the edge of the grass, to join a rough vehicle track at the top. Continue up this track.

At the end, go through a wooden kissing gate by a metal fieldgate, to reach a road. Turn right, pass a side road, and in 10 metres turn left up a tarmac drive. At a tall hedge, bear left into an enclosed path. Emerge onto a road.

Turn left (leaving Monarch’s Way), up the road for 20 metres. Turn right into Welsworth Lane and a housing estate (now on The Staunton Way). Keep forward ignoring all side roads.

The road becomes a tarmac drive. Follow it as it bears left (ignore footpath off right). Drop downhill as the tarmac gives way to gravel. Go through a gateway and pass a cottage to reach a junction of ways.

Bear left, up and around to a metal equestrian gate, and on by the side of a field. Keep on for some way on a path now between two open fields.

At the far side, go forward on a farm track and reach another equestrian gate by a metal fieldgate. Go through and down to a road.

Bear right on the road downhill. Go forward with care at a blind junction and soon reach The George in Finchdean and the start of the section.