🥾 Walk 622 - Eversley and the Bramshill Plantation

On Saturday 27th January, eighteen of us (plus a small dog) met up in Eversley for a seven-mile walk around Heath Warren Wood and the Bramshill Plantation. This was described in our programme as an easy walk, as it was mostly flat with only a couple of gentle inclines, so a good walk for people who haven't been walking for a while.

After the walk leaders introduced themselves, we set off by walking through the grounds of St Mary's Church, Eversley, on a footpath that continued westward past Warren Farm and through Heath Warren Wood, which is mostly tall pine trees.

Stopping to cross Bramshill Road, we were soon entering the Bramshill Plantation. Initially, we walked past a section of young fir trees, carefully fenced off to allow them to get established before the local deer could get at them.

Next, we wove our way along a twisting path through mature pines and silver birch trees. We stopped by a small pond (the first of several ponds of varying sizes that we would pass) for a drink. Some of us had bought flasks of hot coffee.

We continued with our circuit through the plantation, walking on a mix of long, straight gravel paths (used by the forestry workers) and twisting (and often muddy) public footpaths. We stopped by a couple more ponds along the way.

Our lunch stop was taken when we found a number of fallen trees in the woods, near the path. There were enough for all eighteen of us to sit on. When out walking with us, it's a good idea to bring a "sit mat" (or an empty plastic carrier bag) to keep yourself dry when sitting on potentially damp ground or, in this case, mossy trees.

After lunch, we left Bramshill Plantation by the way we'd come in, crossing the road again, back into Heath Warren Wood. We headed south along a footpath through a patch of tall pines and then into an open and slightly marshy area.

Soon we joined a long footpath also known as The Welsh Drive, a drove road along which cattle from Wales were herded to the markets south of London in the 18th and 19th centuries. This section passed through Warren Heath and crossed the Three Castles Path, where we switched tracks. This long-distance path connects Winchester Castle to Windsor Castle, via Odiham Castle, but we only followed it as far as the car park from where we'd started. See our route on Google Maps.

Thanks go to Emma and Rob for leading this walk.

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