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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locate your current position on the map (browser will ask for permission, works best on phones due to use of GPS). We don’t track your location.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 from Winchester City Centre
Highlights of walk#10
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)?
Farmland and fields on the way to South Wonston
This walk is part of the 12 walks challenge. Photos were taken between April and November 2020.