(S/E) Turn left (East) down the road (Barston Lane) out of The Bull's Head car park to find the footpath on your right (South) by St.Swithin's Church.
Go through the gate into the churchyard, then keep to the left of the church and go ahead to take the wooden kissing gate in the corner. Continue between the fences to then go half left to find wooden kissing gate in the far corner (ignore the gate on your right.)
(1) Continue between hedges to take the metal kissing gate into a field. Bear half right to go diagonally across field passing just to the right of a clump of two trees in centre of field then take gap ahead. Go along the edge of a large field with a hedge and trees left.
Continue through the gated gap ahead then bear right to cross a footbridge over a stream. On the other side of the footbridge go immediately left then right through a small wooded area to find and take a stile into a field. There may be friendly, nosey cows in this section.
Go with a wire fence and the wood right to take the kissing gate in the corner. Go immediately sharp left to walk along narrow track in a shallow gully between wire fences to find a metal kissing gate. Take the gate and cross the gap to take the other kissing gate and continue along the tree-lined path eventually entering small field.
Continue ahead with the hedge and trees left to exit the field by the low fence gap. Go right on a driveway of an isolated house (with interesting eyebrow roof feature) to reach a road (Barston Lane).
(2) Go left on the road for some 250 yards to find a gap by an unused stile on right. Take the gap and after 10 paces cross the hidden stream on left into the field. Go with stream right, then left (North-East) across a small field to the hedge corner diagonally opposite, aiming for a single tall Poplar tree, where you will find a field corner waypost. Continue for some while with hedge left up field passing the Poplar.
(3) At top of the field go right (South-East) down the track (ignore stile to the road) staying in the same field. Go with the hedge left to exit the first field by the far corner gap by the Oak tree. Just before the end of the next field, find a large waymarked gap in left hedge.
Here, turn right (South-West) and go down the field to find the stile at the bottom left (you have now joined the Millennium Way where you will be guided by the black and white waymarkers). Take the stile and go ahead across the field taking a mid field bridge then forward to exit the field by the hedge gap.
Once through the gap continue uphill with hedge right and a wire fence left to pass through a corner gap (with defunct stile) and stay with the hedge right to take the corner stile/gap to the road. Take care when crossing this busy road (B4101).
(4) Go left along the road passing houses on your right. Just before Ye Olde Saracen's Head pub turn right (South-West) into Magpie Lane passing Jessamine Cottage, then after a few paces take a waymarked metal kissing gate right.
Go around the fenced field edge with the hedge left and the fence right (ignoring any gates right in fence), eventually to reach the kissing gate to Magpie Lane. Go left on the lane and after approx 90 paces take stile or the open gate on the right. Go with the hedge right and then copse right to follow round to the large open field.
(5) Go straight down across the centre of the field to take the footbridge and a kissing gate ahead. Continue ahead over the field to find a further kissing gate then ahead, passing the short length of hedge left, to hedge stile. Take the stile and go ahead with the hedge left under power lines to corner gap.
Here we have reached a crossroads of paths and will leave The Millennium Way by taking the gap at the corner and going right (North-North-West) to continue along the edge of the next field with hedge and trees right to again pass under the same power lines and exit the large field to the road (B4101) at field corner via kissing gate.
(6) Cross the very busy main road with care and take kissing gate opposite, then ahead across the field to pass a mid field yellow topped waypost. Stay forward and on reaching the River Blythe bear right keeping the river and tall hedge left. As the path swings right you will find another waypost. At this point go left very shortly to reach a footbridge.
(7) Cross the footbridge to the next field, then go diagonally quarter right towards the church tower and exit the field via mid fence stile or open gate. Keep ahead up next field with hedge left and exit by corner wooden kissing gate back towards the churchyard. Go past the church to the road (Barston Lane) then turn left back to The Bull's Head. (S/E)
