Petersfield to Bedhampton

Date: 31 July 2010
Area: Hampshire, Petersfield and Havant
Distance: 15.7Miles 25.25k
Start Location: Petersfield Railway Station
OS Sheet: Explorer 133 and 120
Grid Ref: SU 7438 2355
Outline: Petersfield, Buriton QE Country Park, Charlton, Finchdean, Rowlands Castle, Leigh Park, Stockheath, Bedhampton Railway Station

See route and get GPX file from Every Trail







Route
From Petersfield Station head down through the town centre and south along the old A3 road, left and across to Buriton before heading uphill to a road. Crossing right follow the signs left across the fields into the Forest and down to the visitors centre. Head back south a bit to pick up Staunton Way. This is the start of a long but steady climb curving around the Forest to come out into fields heading towards Charlton.

Leave Charlton by Church Yard and follow the Staunton Way south over Charlton Down to Finchdean. From the centre of the village bear right uphill to bend in the road and pick up the path across the fields, walk down in to Rowlands Castle From here follow the Staunton Way into Staunton Park and Leigh Park Gardens and try to follow the signs and the 1 to 25,000 map to reach Bedhampton.

Journey

Every couple of months we travel down to Portsmouth to see my mother in law for the weekend. This gives me a change to do a walk on the Saturday while Mrs O-n-G spends time with her mother. So earlier this year when I found an article on the internet describing an 11mile walk from Liss to Petersfield using a section of the Hangers Way, I was immediately interested, as I knew could get a train there and back letting Mrs O-n-G use the car to take her mum out.

The Hangers Way walk starts in Alton in Hampshire and heads south through Selbourne, Steep, Petersfield, and Buriton generally keeping to the wooded areas (Hangers) along the sides of the Downs. It finishes at the Queen Elizabeth Country Park south of Petersfield. http://www3.hants.gov.uk/longdistance/hangers-way.htm
On a blustery damp Saturday in early April I walked from Liss Railway Station out to pick up the Hangers Way near Empshott and walked, slipped, slithered and waded through deep mud to Petersfield.

After that it seemed natural that the next walk in this area would be from Petersfield, south to the end of the Hangers Way and then, to make a walk of it, on to the railway station at Rowlands Castle. A study of the map showed The Staunton Way starts at the Queen Elizabeth Country Park and passes through Rowlands Castle; route planning is seldom this easy. http://www3.hants.gov.uk/longdistance/staunton-way.htm

Furthermore, south of there the Staunton Way snakes its way through the very attractive Leigh Park Gardens and into the massive council housing estates of Leigh Park and Stockheath. This was where I was lived with my parents between 1953 and 1963. During that time I had explored and played over a wide area of the estates but have seldom returned since. What the hell I thought, it’s only four more miles to walk but I can catch a bus to mums from Bedhampton, perhaps its time I went back for a look.

On Saturday I didn’t get up in time and missed the 0832 train from Hilsea Halt to Petersfield, but managed to make the 0932. As I walked through Petersfield town centre, there was a bustle about the place, it felt pleasant, comfortable and I was quite taken with it. There was a wide range of the small local shops of the type that seem to have disappeared in many places, plus in the square there was a small market.

I have walked in the Queen Elizabeth Country Park many times but on this visit it felt quiet, lifeless, flat even sterile. I’m not sure why this should be as there were plenty of visitors about including two ladies, in what looked like evening dress, but there was little bird song and few flowers other than Ragwort. Perhaps it was just the time of year, a quiet period between the spring and autumn flowers or it might have been the close, thundery weather that darkened the atmosphere and mood.

I had a pleasant chat with a lady doing the flowers at the Charlton Church as I passed by on way to Charlton Down. On a good day the walk from Charlton to Finchdean is very enjoyable with super views, on Saturday it was warm and rainy and a bit unpleasant, the hamlets and farms in the valley below appeared to be fading in and out of the murk. Then the sun would break through and drag a fast moving golden glow across the downs, fields and woodlands.

From Rowland Castle I followed the Staunton Way south. Leigh Park Gardens and the lake looked to be pretty much unchanged from how they were 30 years ago.

Less than a mile later more memories came flooding back as I recognised places and things I’d not seen for nearly 50 years. Several times I was shocked, almost to a standstill, by the strength of memories and feelings that were triggered by a tree, a path past some now derelict garages, a road, a view of our old house, the Dentists I went to, still there.

Unfortunately, my overwhelming impressions of the walk through Leigh Park will be of a depressing mixture of 1950’s and 60’s social housing bareley changed since 1963, of wild, unkempt ribbons of paths along dirty streams strewn with rubbish and scruffy gardens. I did not expect much, I only saw a limited area, I’m sure other parts are far nicer but I didn’t see them. Clearly a ten/eleven year old child tends to accept their surroundings as the norm, how the adult person will see those same places 50 years later will depend on many factors. But I am sure that Leigh Park had a hand in making me as I am.