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walk#10 – railway line and watercress

  • by Will Walker
  • June 25, 2022
walk #10 - South Wonston and Worthy Down

On the way to South Wonston we walk through Headbourne Worthy, skirt the Barton Meadows Nature Reserve (see walk#3), and take a small detour through the new Kings Barton housing estate. After a small stretch on Andover Road, the path goes across open fields, past the Winchester Golf Academy towards South Wonston. The Ox Drove track leads us to the disused railway line of the Southampton-Newbury-Didcot railway, circling around Worthy Down Barracks. The path along the railway tracks is part of the Watercress Way.

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Start and end point: St Mary’s Church, Kings Worthy

Length: 14.8 km / 9.2 miles
Time: 3 hours 25 minutes at a swift pace + breaks
Difficulty: Moderate – 243 m total ascent
Parking: Roadside, off London Road in Kings Worthy
Public transport: buses to Springvale (SPRING)

Click to view in OS Maps

Highlights of walk#10

wooded path along disused railway line
Disused railway line of the Southampton-Newbury Didcot Railway south of Worthy Down Halt
disused railway platform with footpath
Remaining platform at Worthy Down Halt

Whilst the railway tracks have been removed, the platform at Worthy Down Halt is still there.

A printable leaflet gives information about part of the route and landmarks along the disused railway line. Can you find the course of the railway line on the 1953 Ordnance Map (Watercress Way railway heritage page)?

footpath
Woodland by Connaught Road, Worthy Down
information sign Watercress Way
Information about the Western part of the Watercress Way

Farmland and fields on the way to South Wonston

field with blooming rape seed
Field near Connaught Road, Worthy Down
plowed field and view towards Winchester
View from path south of Down Farm Lane; you can see the Pinsent telco towers in the background
Barton Meadows in summer – see walk#3
sheep grazing on meadows
Sheep on Barton Meadows in autumn

This walk is part of the 12 walks challenge. Photos were taken between April and November 2020.

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Tags:fieldsmoderaterailway