Crowthorne to Winchfield via Welsh Drive, around Reading

Start : Crowthorne Railway Station (RG45 6NZ) Grid ref. SU 823 637

(S) From the station entrance, cross to the footpath sign and turn right through the gates of the new development.

(1) Bear left to the footpath soon between the railway and the pleasant wooded grounds of Wellington College. Soon after the path turns to the left, turn sharp right to join the Three Castles Path and cross the railway.

(2) Turn left and keep to the Three Castles Path through Ambarrow Court Nature Reserve, keeping ahead at the footpath junction signpost.

(3) Turn right at T-junction. Keep right to follow the path through the car park to the busy A321. Cross with care into the fenced path.

(4) On reaching the lane turn left and soon turn left again through a gate. Keep to the edge of three fields and a cross lane, meadow and the water sports area at Horseshoe Lake. Bear right at the road to reach the banks of the Blackwater River.

(5) Turn right along the path and keep to the river bank for about a mile, passing Moor Green Lakes Nature Reserve.

(6) Turn left over a wooden bridge at the path junction. Keep ahead then fork left through a wood and with a lake on the left. At the end of the lake continue ahead to reach the road.

(7) Turn right along the hedge with a green area on the left.

(8) Keep ahead into a narrow path that crosses two minor roads. Bear right, cross a wooden footbridge and keep to the field edge. Soon bear left along a fenced footpath with a lake on the right. Turn right through a gate and follow a footpath to Fox Lane.

(9) Turn right then left at the road junction to reach the B2379 at Eversley Cross.

(10) Turn right along this road for the Frog and Wicket and the Chequers, and in Eversley Centre, post office, shop and the Golden Pot.

(11) Just after the playground, turn left on a wooded footpath just before the bus stop.

(12) At the paths junction, under power lines, turn right then left along the field boundary. Go through a gate, turn right along the fence and continue to the A327.

(13) Cross with care and keep ahead across the green and into a lane, passing the old manor, the church and the old rectory.

(14) Turn left at gateposts and enter the Forestry Commission land. Keep to the main track following the footpath signs to reach the major crossing track of Welsh Drive.

(15) Cross Welsh Drive (A) to the left of a concrete pillar and enter the wide track (Fox Ride).

(16) Cross the next ride (Sir Richard's (B)) and at the next junction ignore the descending path and bear right on level track on high ground.

(17) Soon after this track starts to descend, take the narrower left-hand footpath to leave the forest on a fenced path which leads to the well-named Springwell Lane.

(18) As the lane turns left, take the public footpath right through a swing gate. Cross the paddock and go through the gate. Cross the corner of a field to swing gates at the far end of the field. After more swing gates the route crosses a meadow.

(19) Then cross a substantial wooden footbridge over the River Hart. Keep left and follow the footpath along the doe of the woods with the open area of Hazely Heath on the right. Keep to the rising footpath inside the wood along the edge of the heath until it reaches a broad crossing track in a more open area.

(20) Turn left and at the next crossing continue ahead on a public footpath. Descend through mature woodland to reach a built up area. Continue to Hunts Common Rd which joins the main A30 on the right.

(21) Cross the main road with care and possibly some difficulty and go along Park Corner Rd to view the duck pond and picturesque Causeway Farm. Turn right through the middle of the green following a line of oak trees.

Cross a minor road and pass between the Cricketers pub and the cricket ground. Continue ahead across another minor road and then the busy A323 and into Green Lane.

(22) After St. John's church turn left past more ancient oak trees. Keep right at a road which passes the vicarage and becomes Church Lane.

At a road junction cross to the swing-gate on the right of a property and keep to the field edge to reach the cemetery of St Mary's Church (C), dating from 1234.

(23) Here turn left and follow the path round the edge, enjoying the extensive pastoral views. After a small brick building turn left through a V-stile to enter a wooded path beside the lane. At lane turn left over the stile on descending path across the field. Cross the drive and footbridge and go along the edge of the field to a lane.

(24) Turn right along the lane and left at a footpath sign. If this footpath is overgrown, use the track a few yards further on. Cross footbridge to farm track leading to a bridge over the M3. At the end of the concrete go ahead to a narrow wooded footpath which leads to the road by the railway bridge.

(25) Turn right for the Winchfield Inn and Winchfield Railway station. (E)

Start : Crowthorne Railway Station (RG45 6NZ) Grid ref. SU 823 637

Maps : Map OS Explorer 159 & 144

Find more information and walks at Round Reading Walks website here.

The Blackwater Valley Path follows the Blackwater River from its source to its confluence, first with the River Whitewater and then with the River Loddon at Swallowfield. It links woods and water meadows, Country Parks and Nature Reserves, and provides facilities for walking and cycling, fishing and other water sports.

(A) Welsh Drive was an old drove road. For centuries cattle were driven from Wales to Blackwater where there used to be an annual fair. The practice was banned at the end of the 19th century to control the spread of animal diseases.

(B) After Sir Richard's ride the area to the left, once used for sand and gravel extraction, has been reclaimed for forestry using the technique of " ridge and furrow". This has led to faster growth and a higher survival rate for young trees.

(C) Charles Kingsley was rector at St Mary's church for 30 years and "The Water Babies" was written at the old rectory. He is buried in the churchyard and the large Wellingtonia there has grown from a cone his daughter planted a few days after he died.