We are the Winchester Ramblers. We open the way for everyone in our local community to enjoy the pleasures of walking.
Dale T.
Shawford and Otterbourne Figure of Eight
The morning walk (4 ½ miles) is from Shawford Down to Otterbourne where we walk through Otterbourne’s woods and green spaces. We return to Shawford via the Camino Ingles (aka the Itchen Way). The afternoon (c 3 ½ miles) is a loop west of the car park and motorway.
Start: 10.30 am from Shawford Down car park on Otterbourne Road near the Shepherds Lane crossing over the motorway.
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The car park is about 400 yards from the cafe for those who only want to walk in the morning.
The No 1 bus from Winchester and Chandlers Ford stops at the car park and is very frequent. Shawford railway station is also close to the starting point - and lunch.
Lunch: Platform 1 Coffee House and Gelato at Shawford. This café sells delicious hot and cold filled rolls and home-made burgers (veggie as well as meat). It also sells beer and wine as well as tea, coffee, soft drinks and cakes.
See the menu at https://www.platformone.uk/platform-1-shawford
If you would like to have lunch, please let me know by 6.00pm on Tuesday evening. The café is small, so lunch numbers are restricted to 20. It would be helpful to them to know your menu choices, so they don’t run out of anyone’s first choice. Numbers of walkers are unrestricted.
There are picnic spots nearby - including the station if it is wet.
Walk description: The route follows footpaths, permissive paths and some linking stretches of pavement. The highlights are Otterbourne woods (now Woodland Trust), a length of the Roman Road from Winchester to Clausentum, the site of Otterbourne Old Church and graveyard, and a pretty stretch of the Itchen Way. The descent of Shawford Down is steep and can be slippery; if in doubt, bring a stick. Otherwise, the paths are flat and, when we walked recently, mostly dry with just one or two muddy patches. No stiles.
