🥾 Walk 598 - Basingstoke and Old Basing

On Saturday 19th August, ten people and a well-behaved dog gathered outside an office building in Basingstoke View business park, about ten minutes walk from Basingstoke railway station. Pat, our walk leader today, had managed to organise some free parking at her place of work, which was much appreciated.

After introductions and a brief description of this semi-urban walk, we set off through the business park and over a bridge into Eastrop Park. An eleventh walker joined us as we left the park and passed under the elevated ring-road and joined Basing Road. This we followed eastward, leaving it for a footpath that passed by Barton's Mill pub.

A footpath through Mill Field took us onto Bartons Lane. This joined Pyotts Hill, where we took another footpath, heading north-east through fields that approximately followed the the course of the River Loddon.

Pat's walks always have a coffee stop before lunch (bring your own coffee - or something else if you prefer) and so we stopped by a wood next to a field of long-stem clover at Lower River Row. After our break, we looped round south-westward, crossing the river on a footbridge and following alongside it to Lower Mill Farm.

Next we followed Newnham Lane into Old Basing village, passing the characterful cottages and church on The Street before leaving the village by the Old Basing Royal British Legion Social Club and entering Basingstoke Common.

Here there were a large number of horses, grazing on the common land. Most of them ignored us, but one was curious enough to wander slowly over to inspect us. Our dog (which as on a lead) and the horse didn't seem at all fazed by each other and we continued across the common, eventually reaching the A30.

After crossing this busy road, we were in the Crabtree Plantation - a strip of land between the A30 and M3 motorway. This pleasant (apart from the sound of the traffic) stretch of land took us back to Basingstoke, where we passed under the link road again and entered Black Dam Park. There were benches by the pond and a picnic table on the grass, making it the perfect place for our lunch-stop.

After lunch, we passed over the link-road and into War Memorial Park. Walking through this historic Georgian park, we passed by outdoor gymnasium equipment, a bandstand and a bird cage. Leaving the park, we followed roads back to Eastrop Park and retraced our steps back to the car park. See our route on Google Maps.

Thank you to Pat for leading this walk.

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