Country:
City:
Start : Dummer Church (RG25 2AY) Grid ref. SU 588 460
(S) With your back to the church, walk North along Down Street past The Queen Inn on your left. Walk along this road until you reach the motorway (M3).
(1) Just before the motorway junction turn right on the footpath past Kempshot Park golf course. Keep to the drive soon with the motorway on the left, and cross the bridge over the motorway.
(2) Turn left, beside the motorway at first then with the wood on the left and the golf course on the right again. Carefully cross the motorway spur bearing left on the track between roads.
(3) Then bear right along the safety barrier.
(4) Carefully cross the A30 to the grass verge.
(5) Turn right up Trenchards Lane.
(6) When the lane bends left keep ahead through the gate and along the field edge soon with South Wood on the right. Keep ahead to the end of the wood.
(7) Then turn right round the wood on the track for a short distance then turn left along the hedge for a few paces as indicated. Turn right on a path through the hedge. Continue ahead across a large field to Bull's Bushes Farm.
(8) Turn right along the boundary to the path junction. There are two options here. The easier one is to turn right with Bull's Bushes Copse on the left.
(9) At the path junction turn left still alongside the copse to reach the lane.
(10) Keep ahead and as the lane bends to the left keep in the same direction on the track.
(11) Stay on this undulating track as it passes under the railway line and crosses open agricultural land to reach the road at Deane.
(12) Turn right on the road, and cross the B3400 with the bus stop on the right. There are frequent buses to Basingstoke from here. Continue along the lane to All Saints church.
(13) Here leave the Wayfarer's Walk and turn left beside the graveyard. Go through the swing gate on the left and keep ahead on a mown strip of grass across Deane Park which has many fine, mature trees. Go through the gate then through a narrow band of trees. Cross the field on rising ground with good views all around then drop down to the lane at Ashe.
(14) Cross to the path past church and lower Ashe Farm.
(15) Turn left and right at a footpath sign. The pond on the left is the source of the River Test. Keep ahead at the cross-track and go through the swing-gate in the direction of the footpath sign with the infant Test meandering on the left.
(16) Cross the river and turn right at a cross-paths.
(17) Soon, at the ford, bear right to the plank bridge over the river into a tree-lined track and cross the second ford.
(18) Turn left along the lane with glimpses of the fast-growing Test below on the left.
(19) Keep ahead at the road junction and pass River Cottage, Willow Cottage and Hazel Cottage (number 77). Continue to reach the road junction by small green boasting a seat and two mature trees.
(20) For Overton Railway station, turn right here. Otherwise, turn left at a road junction and for accommodation keep ahead to the main road.
(21) To continue the walk soon cross the road and go through the gate on the footpath beside the warren Test again. There are yellow water irises here in season.
(22) On reaching road (B3051), cross through a swing gate and pass 'Little Meadow' on a rising fenced path through fields.
(23) At the top of the hill, turn right on Court Drove.
(24) Cross the railway and continue on this old drove road on gradually rising ground. The next junction is with the Harrow Way, last encountered at Ellisfield.
(25) Keep straight ahead. On a sunny day there are butterflies in the hedgerows.
(26) After Willesley Warren Farm the track becomes surfaced and dips before ascending to the road, with a fine view across the coomb.
(27) Turn right alongside the belt of trees, watching out for on-coming traffic.
(28) Before the sharp bend in the road, carefully cross to the bridle-way through the right-hand corner of Caesar's Belt which marks the Portway, the route of the Roman road from Calleva Atrebatum at Silchester to the south coast.
Follow the gradually rising hedged path which eventually opens up to give far-reaching views of the surrounding downs.
(29) Keep ahead on the wide grass track past the entrance to Sydmonton Court Estate At Ashley Warren Down note the band of trees descending into the valley on the right. This is the beech hanger in Richard Adam's Watership Down which sheltered the rabbit warren of Hazel and friends.
After the gate, to visit the highest point on Watership Down, turn left. If you are lucky, skylarks will be singing overhead and there are cowslips in season.
(30): Turn right at the gate on the bridleway to re-join route. Pass the northern edge of the beech hanger where in the story the spreading roots of the trees form the roof of the 'honeycomb', the Watership Down warren. Perhaps the descendants of Hazel, Blackberry and Bigwig are swapping stories there at this very minute.
(31) On reaching the footpath on the left continue in the direction indicated. Keep ahead across gallops and contour the side of the hill just below the line of jumps with the radio mast at Hannington now ahead. Follow the path as it descends steeply to trees.
(32) Turn right along the track and continue to the footpath sign. Turn left across the field beside the newly-planted hedge. Turn right on the grass verge beside the disused gallop to reach a road.
(33) Turn right. The springs which are the source of Kingsclere Brook are on the right.
(34) Cross the road called Bear Hill and to continue the walk turn left on a footpath through the swing gate.
(35) For Kingscere keep ahead along Fox's Lane and take the footpath, right through the swing gate. Enjoy the water and plant life alongside this pretty path which crosses Kingscere Brook.
(36) Go through the churchyard and turn left for shops and for buses to Newbury and Basingstoke in Kingsclere.(E)
Visorando Member
Moderate 
Easy 
