walk#7 – horses, burial mounds and an avenue

The path through Littleton Stud with paddocks connects Three Maids Hill by Andover Road with the village of Littleton. Further to the west, past Stockbridge Road, there is a grand, grassy avenue leading to Lainston House, flanked by a nice strip of woodland. This walks takes us to the northern outskirts of Winchester with a stop at Flowerdown Barrows, three Bronze aged burial mounds created about 4000 years ago. When open, the Lainston House hotel, a five start country retreat, makes a great stop for afternoon tea.

Start and end point: Waitrose/Aldi on Stockbridge Road

Variation: Skip Lainston House and return on Main Road through the village of Littleton towards Kennel Lane

The walk shares a brief section on Andover road with walk#10, we would wish that this part can be re-routed away from the main road once the land currently occupied by the Sir John Moore Barracks has been redeveloped.

Highlights of walk#7

We explore the wedge between the Stockbridge and Andover Roads in Walk 7. On the way to Littleton Stud and Lainston house this walk goes through Harestock and past the Telephone exchange on Harestock Road toward the entrance of the Sir John Moore Barracks, home of the Army Training Regiment. The path along Andover road is right beside a busy road with a 50 mph speed limit. Just past the entrance to the Barracks, a narrow grass strip leads into the woodlands and the wooded Three Maids Hill countryside site.

On the way to and back from Lainston you need to cross Stockbridge Road twice. Be careful as cars tend to be fast.

Flowerdown Barrows is an English Heritage site in the middle of Littleton and warrants a 5 minute detour. Have a quick read of its history.

Littleton

Lainston House

Flowerdown

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