Section 37
Catherington to Hambledon
Walk Details
Walk Instructions
Greatstone to Gillingham Robust Ramble
Section 37 Out
Catherington to Hambledon
Map: OS Explorer 119 Meon Valley
Distance: 5 miles/ 3 hours
Start: The Farmer pub; car park for those intending to visit, also village car park opposite the school (height bar).
Comment: An interesting section with excellent views. However, views mean hills and there are some stiff climbs so allow plenty of time and take those walking poles. A scattering of stiles, some very overgrown so pack some secateurs. The route uses a new bridleway, created in June 2017, and a short section of The Monarch’s Way.
With The Farmer pub on your right, walk back uphill to pass Catherington church. Keep on past White Dirt Lane on the right. Drop downhill, looking for a footpath off left by the last large tree. Cross a stile and go steeply downhill on an enclosed path.
At the bottom, cross a stile and then a very busy road. Take care as vehicle speeds are very high. The path opposite goes between logs to a field corner. Go up the side of the field with a hedge on your left.
Pass houses on your left and continue up the field when the hedge and fence finish. At the top, exit under power lines, through bushes, to a road.
Turn left uphill and wind around to a T-junction. Turn right for 20 metres, looking for a path through a gap in the hedge on your left. Enter a field. Head straight across the field towards a tree. Pass this and continue on. In the corner cross a stile and drop down, through bushes, to a field corner. Excellent views here.
Bear right along the top field edge then steeply down to a junction of ways in the bottom corner. Here turn left on a pleasant path through trees along the valley bottom. Keep on for some way, including a bend right and left, to eventually arrive at a road.
Immediately opposite is a much narrower continuation of the path. This is a brand new Bridleway created in June, 2017 so will not appear on OS maps for some time. The path obviously has current use but will be properly cleared when the path is confirmed. Anyway, go straight across onto this path and follow it through to the end of trees and on across an open field to a road.
Go forward up the road to a bend left. Here go straight on onto a rough, stony farm track. Go along this for 200 metres to a bend right then left. Immediately after the bend, look for a stile in the hedge on the right. Cross this and go steeply up the side pf a field with a fence on your right.
At the top corner, leave the field onto a farm track and continue uphill. At a bend, ignore the path continuing up and bear left, still on the stony track.
At the next junction (a farm dump), bear left again to keep on in the same direction as before, on an even rougher farm track. At the next junction, by a metal fieldgate, turn right on a wider, but still stony, track.
Soon approach a farm. Pass a large, algae covered pond. Immediately turn left on a track along the top of the pond (there are no waymarks here). Drop down to reach cowsheds. Bear right over a stile and go across to a metal kissing gate. Continue up with a hedge on your right.
Keep steadily uphill passing farm buildings and go on through two metal kissing gates to the top of the hill. Through the second one, continue straight across the field to another kissing gate at the far side.
In the field ahead, follow a line of poles across a large field to a final metal kissing gate. Cross a track and continue on, still following the poles to reach an equestrian gate at the far side. Go through onto a grassy path.
Keep along this, ignoring a path off left, to eventually come out by a house. Bear left on the entrance drive a few paces, then turn right, onto a footpath off right, into trees.
Go gently downhill on this pleasant path, eventually passing a house to reach a road junction. Ignore the higher road, instead cross to the far road going steeply downhill. Turn right down this.
Keep on this pleasant road for a good way, eventually reaching the village centre, by the shop, in Hambledon. Turn left along the main road for some way to reach The Vine pub (not open Mondays) and the end of the section.
Greatstone to Gillingham Robust Ramble
Section 37 Return
Hambledon to Catherington
Map: OS Explorer 119 Meon Valley
Distance: 5 miles/ 2.5 hours
Start: The Vine pub; on street parking possible, also village hall car park is next door.
Comment: A varied route with short sections of the Wayfarer’s and Monarch’s Way. Some steep climbs on the preserved downland at beginning and end of the walk. Some stiles; a section of road walking on a quiet country lane.
With The Vine on your right, walk down the road, past the village hall car park, to a junction at the end. Turn left along the main road looking for a footpath on the left, just before a tall green hedge.
The path goes steeply up to a wooden kissing gate and enters Speltham Down. Ignore a gate on the left and go straight uphill with a hedge on your left.
Ignore a path off left by a pole. Keep on up into and through trees to a swing gate near the top. Continue forward and on across a sloping field to trees at the top.
Cross a footpath and enter trees, then on up a field edge to a road. Turn left on the road a few paces.
Soon turn right on a footpath into trees (part of the Wayfarer’s Way). At a field corner, turn left along the field edge with a hedge on your left. Follow the hedge around the next corner.
Where the tall hedge ends keep on down the field edge. At the bottom corner go through a gap in to the next field and keep on down in the same direction to the bottom corner by a pole. Turn left here, with a hedge on your left, and continue out to a road.
Turn right down the road for 30 metres. Turn left off the road onto a path by a tree. Follow the field edge with a hedge on your right.
On reaching a corner by a tall hedge, do not go straight on down a bank. Bear left, still along the field edge, a few paces, to a bend in the hedge. Here there is a junction of paths. Turn left, away from the hedge, up and across a vast open field towards a dense cluster of trees at the top of the hill.
Pass the trees on your left and continue down the other side, to reach a horse paddock. Go straight on with the paddock on your left to a gap in the hedge ahead onto a road.
Turn right a few paces, then left, through metal fieldgates, to go up a farm track. On reaching a line of trees on your right, turn right, to go down the field edge with the treeline on your right (part of the Monarch’s Way). The path is easy to follow as it meanders along the fieldedge. At the far side enter woods.
Emerge into a field and go straight on down and across a field to the edge of a wood with pylons in the distance. Pass the wood and continue with a hedge on your left to meet a cross track (Pitt Hill Lane).
Go straight over and on down a field with a line of trees on your left. At the end of the treeline bear diagonally left, down to the bottom of the valley, by a large tree. Here there is a junction of several tracks.
Cross the main track and go through a metal fieldgate ahead. Bear diagonally left, steeply uphill. At the top, by a seat, go through a gap in bushes and into a flatter field.
Bear slightly, diagonally left, up this field, to an overgrown stile in the hedge at the top. Enter a grassy field and go straight on. At the far side, cross a stile, into a short, enclosed path and soon emerge onto a road.
Bear left and cross, to go up a side road opposite, signed to Lovedean. Keep on this road for ½ mile. Pass a farm and go straight over a crossroads. Eventually go down to a T-junction. Go across to steps up the bank and into a field.
Go straight on, up and across this field. Go through a belt of trees at the top and on across a field to another treeline.
Go through and across and down the field ahead to a road. Warning. This is a very fast road and visibility from the right is poor. STOP BEFORE EXITING THE PATH.
When safe to do so, cross the road and go up to a wooden kissing gate at the entrance to Catherington Down.
Go diagonally left up hill. Near the top there are several paths. Go as directly as possible up to the treeline at the top. In front of the trees turn left on the main track running along the treeline.
Follow the trees on your right with splendid views. Stay on the track as it eventually turns right through the trees to a wooden kissing gate.
Go through to a second wooden kissing gate and follow the path beyond, through scrub. Pass through a further gate, then over grass to reach a car park. GO across to a road.
Turn right, past a school, and soon reach The Farmer pub and the start of the section.