The walk we did on Sunday 11th June was attended by two guests from the Loddon Valley group and one from the Pang Valley group, along with eight of our regulars. While waiting to set off, we became aware of some kind of musical gathering taking place in a natural bowl beneath White Hill. The sound funnelled up toward us and we could just see a few people.
The walk started by joining the Wayfarer's Walk, a 70-mile long-distance path from Inkpen Beacon (Walbury Hill) in Berkshire to Emsworth in Hampshire. This we would follow, heading south-eastwards for around 4½ miles.
After a brief spell of uphill through wheat fields, we were able to look back and see the Wayfarer's Walk disappearing over Watership Down. Our route took a gentle descent, passing by Walkeridge Farm and through woodlands before emerging into the hamlet of North Oakley.
Turning off the quiet road, we passed through some farmland and a new plantation as the Wayfarer's Walk took us further south-east. On the way, we saw some deer running through the fields and into the woods. We left the long-distance path as it crossed White Lane. Following this lane to the east, we stopped at a crossroads for a pre-lunch snack.
We walked along Hannington Road for about half a mile before taking a footpath through Warren Bottom Copse. The bluebells now finished, it was the turn of the nettles to flourish, although the path was reasonably free of them. Emerging from the woods, we stopped by the edge of a barley field for our picnic lunch.
The view of the crops swaying in the breeze put me in mind of watching waves on the sea, except for the occasional hare that bounded through the field. After lunch, we continued northward on a farm track and then through an oilseed rape field. The bright yellow flowers had now gone and the green rapeseed pods were clearly visible.
The footpath by the side of this field was overgrown to the point where it was difficult to follow. The grass came up to my midriff! Luckily, we didn't have to follow it for too long before leaving the field for an easier path that took us into the picturesque village of Hannington. Here we stopped for a drink at The Vine pub.
Refreshed, we set off through Hannington, passing the village green and church, before making our way through farmland. There were more ups and downs on the way to Cottington's Hill and Freemantle Park Down. We reached the highest point by the television transmitting mast before descending through another wheat field back to the car park at White Hill. See our route on Bing Maps.
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