Date: 2013-05-25
From: Beacon Hill Car
Park
Region: Hampshire South Downs
Walk : Circular
OS Sheet: Explorer 119
Start Grid: SU 599 227
Distance: 11.5 ml, 18.5 km
Height
Gain: 737 ft, 225m
Height
Lost: 737 ft, 225 m
Walking with: Katie (dog)
Notes: Tracks and minor roads, field and woodland paths. This route was
published in the June 2013 edition of Country Walking. The details,
descriptions and comments below are all mine.
Route
These notes are provided to enable the
walk to be plotted on a 1:25,000 map.
From the car park just to the W of
Beacon Hill head NW on lane at bend take track (South Downs Way) to Lomer Farm
where the South Downs Way, Monarch’s Way and Wayfarer’s Walk all meet. Head SSE
on the Wayfarer’s Way passing Betty Mundy’s Cottage and St Clair’s Farm towards
Steynes Farm. Before reaching Steynes Farm turn R on footpath across field and
road (B3035) through the woodland passing Hazel Holt onto lane, R to the corner
below Galley Down, R follow bridleway NW to the B3035, cross to lane down into
Dean. At junction turn R, passing Cleverley Cottage and Deans Farm, joining the
Monarch’s Way back to Lomers Farm and back to the car park.
Journey
Spring Bank Holiday and we were back
in Portsmouth to visit the mother in law and Mrs G’s family here. The trip down
on Friday morning had been rain and wind start to finish with some very heavy
traffic, a fairly miserable journey.
Saturday could not have been more
different, a lovely day to be walking on the South Downs. Earlier in the week when I had been looking
for a walk further east around the Goodwood area but when my County Walking Mag.
came and I saw this walk in there I went for it as it’s not often you get to
walk on a National Trail and two long distance trails in one 11 mile circuit.
Getting to Beacon Hill was a thrash
along the M27, and then off onto one of the nicest drives in the area, north up
the Meon Valley along the A32, with remarkably little traffic.
Route finding by memory I turned off the
A32 at Corhampton. I then turned into the wrong little narrow lane then turned left
instead of right. I eventually admitted to the dog that we were a bit lost and it
was time to stop to get the OS map out of my rucksack, in the boot, and then
re-orientate myself.
We were only the second car in the car
park, although there were numerous bikes wizzing about. Anyway Katie and I were
soon sorted out and off along a short section of the South Downs Way to Lomers
Farm then several miles down the Wayfarers Walk through the lovely pastures and
woodland with Katie running around like a mad thing chasing real or imaginary
rabbits, squirrels or game birds. Whatever they were I never saw them.
 |
| Lomer Cottage |
 |
| Below King's Copse |
 |
| St Clair's Farm |
After such a wet spring it was great to see the sunshine and the countryside so green, lush meadows, trees in full leaf, many also in blossom. Banks of Bluebell’s in the hedgerows and large swathes of wild garlic flowers along the track and through the woodland. Dandelions were everywhere, surprisingly, after all the winds and rain, with their seed heads fully intact.
However, the damage done by the winter
and spring weather could be seen in the recently cleared ditches, small landslips
on the steeper hillsides, in the arable fields areas of bare earth and where
the crops are late, growth stunted.
 |
| Dean |
North from Dean, a tiny hamlet but the
largest place on the walk, The Monarch’s Way is all paved lanes and tracks which
definitely became a bit of a trudge. Another factor could be that the Monarch’s
Way here is generally uphill and the Wayfarers Walk is pretty much downhill.
 |
| Caterham Seven |
 |
| Track Monarch's Way |
 |
| Katie cooling her feet |
Just south of Preshaw House, major works being undertaken to remove some five to six hundred metres of the
existing track/bridleway and re-routing it further north. It is disappointing
that work of this order is being carried out without any form of diversionary
signage to assist walkers, riders etc. One wonders if permission/approval has
been obtained from Hampshire County Councils Rights of Way Team for the closure
and the diversion of the bridleway.
 |
| Beacon Hill |
 |
| Cowslips South Downs Way |
Overall the walk was very enjoyable and
the time just flew by. Should I do this one again, or if anyone asked my opinion,
which they never do, I would suggest re-planning the walk so as to start from
the south, parking near to Dean or one of the other hamlets in that area, and
walk the Monarch’s Way leg first. It gets that bit of a trudge feeling out of
the way while you are fresh.
