Walking Hampshire's Test Way. Malcolm Leatherdale
markings are:
Footpaths Yellow arrow − walkers only
Bridleways Blue arrow − walkers, cyclists and horse riders
Restricted byways Purple arrow − walkers, cyclists, horse riders and carriage drivers
Byways Red arrow − as for restricted byways but also motorcycles and motorised vehicles (in effect, byways are open to all traffic and known as BOATS)
Protecting the countryside
When you’re out walking, please remember the main elements of the Countryside Code:
Leave gates and any property as you find them
Protect plants and animals
Take your litter home
Keep dogs under close control
Protect wildlife, plants and trees
Take special care on country roads
All the stages and walks pass through open countryside where there may be cattle. Please always check the latest advice, especially in light of the increasing number of reported cases of injury (more numerous than perhaps might be thought) that have been experienced by walkers with and without dogs. One source of advice is the Hampshire & IOW Wildlife Trust, which publishes a brief guide called Walking with Cattle (please refer to the Hampshire & IOW Wildlife Trust website listed in Appendix D for more information).
Using this guide
At the beginning of each stage is an information box providing the start and finish locations plus the respective grid references; the distance (miles/km); the minimum time to complete the stage; the Explorer map(s); and accommodation details (please also refer to Appendix C).
Please also look at the information box at the top of each stage or walk to check the refreshment outlets. As will be appreciated, there is no guarantee that all or any will be open as you happen to be passing.
Also included is basic public transport information. Some of the accommodation, refreshment outlets or public transport mentioned may be a short distance from the actual route of a stage, in which case please refer to the Itinerary planner (Appendix B). Similar information (other than accommodation) also appears in the information boxes for each of the 15 day walks.
A standard feature for each stage and walk is the inclusion of a short overview outlining the general terrain and any particular places of interest. For every route there is a map extract from the 1:50,000 OS Landranger series highlighting features referred to in the text in bold to assist in following the route. The overlays also show the route without detours or shortcuts. To be on the safe side though, it is always advisable to take the relevant OS Explorer map.
All the total distances shown for each stage and walk are in both metric and imperial rounded to the nearest ¼ mile and have been taken from OS Explorer maps. Any height quoted is in metres. The time for each stage or walk − to be regarded as the minimum − is based on 2.5 miles/hr (4km/hr).
GPX tracks
GPX tracks for the routes in this guidebook are available to download free at www.cicerone.co.uk/953/GPX. A GPS device is an excellent aid to navigation, but you should also carry a map and compass and know how to use them. GPX files are provided in good faith, but neither the author nor the publisher accept responsibility for their accuracy.
THE TEST WAY
The River Dun near Kimbridge (Stage 7/Walk 13)
STAGE 1
Inkpen Beacon to Hurstbourne Tarrant
| Start | Informal car park at road T-junction adjacent to the Wayfarer’s Walk (SU 369 621) |
| Finish | The community centre and recreation ground car park, Hurstbourne Tarrant (SU 385 528) |
| Distance | 13km (8 miles) |
| Time | 3hr 15min |
| Maps | OS Explorer 131 and 158 |
| Refreshments | Hurstbourne Tarrant: George & Dragon (01264 736277) (125 metres off route) |
| Public transport | Trains to Andover, Hungerford, Kintbury and Newbury; bus services to Inkpen village from Hungerford, Kintbury and Newbury; bus services to Hurstbourne Tarrant from Andover and Newbury |
| Accommodation | Inkpen village and Hurstbourne Tarrant |
The first stage of the TW starts very close to its highest point of 280m with panoramic views. The route wends its way initially over rolling downland and then through Combe Wood, past Hart Hill Down and on to Linkenholt before arriving at Ibthorpe and, shortly afterwards, Hurstbourne Tarrant where it ends at the car park which is also the start and finish of Walk 1.
Exit the car park and cross the road to the ‘ribbon of chalk and flint’ streaming across the escarpment towards Combe Gibbet on Gallows Down. Go past the gibbet keeping to the rutted track for another 500 metres to reach a three-way track junction and several towering beech trees.
Bear left and continue slightly uphill to the end of the hedge where there is a public bridleway sign. Cross the dividing grassy area between two open fields to the right-hand side of the hedge in front and, as the broad field margin curves gradually to the left, descend towards a field gate and side gate.
Go through the side gate and bear left (past a Buttermere Estate wooden sign) staying alongside the boundary as it arcs gently around the top edge of the field to another field gate that opens on to an enclosed rutted farm track with distant views to the right. Continue along the track to a junction with a bridleway (left) and a stile (right) – where there is also another Buttermere Estate sign the other side of the fence. The track becomes more loosely surfaced as it descends very sharply alongside Combe Wood. At the bottom of the dip, turn directly left into Combe Wood through an opening next to a ‘fixed’ field gate ignoring the unmarked grassy path straight ahead.
Follow the woodland track to a track junction where there is a signpost confirming that the track so far is a byway and the track ahead is a public bridleway. Continue through the woodland to a second public bridleway signpost at the point where the TW is joined by another track from the left. Emerge from Combe Wood and keep to the track along the field boundary at the base of Hart Hill Down to a single storey old farm building (left).
Alongside Combe Wood
In a further 300 metres, the track forks by a second more contemporary single storey building – an ‘outdoor activities’ facility. Take the right-hand fork for 75 metres uphill towards a modest flint cottage. Opposite the cottage is the TW waymarked path that goes directly into the woodland. The incline through the woodland of 150 metres is quite steep and the path is full of tree roots.
At the top, climb the stile on to the field margin that leads to a dark tunnel of laurel hedging and evergreen trees. At the end is a residential access drive where you should turn left to a narrow road and then left again towards Linkenholt and the unassuming – but nonetheless very attractive – Grade II-listed Church of St Peter. The Church of St Peter was largely rebuilt using