The Itchen Way is a long-distance

footpath A footpath (also pedestrian way, walking trail, nature trail) is a type of thoroughfare that is intended for use only by pedestrians and not other forms of traffic such as motorized vehicles, bicycles and horses. They can be found in a wide ...

following the River Itchen in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, England, from its source near Hinton Ampner House to its mouth at

Woolston Woolston may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Woolston, Cheshire, a village and civil parish in Warrington * Woolston, Devon, on the list of United Kingdom locations: Woof-Wy near Kingsbridge, Devon * Woolston, Southampton, a city suburb in Ha ...

. The walk finishes at Sholing railway station. The route has been promoted by the Eastleigh Group of the

Ramblers The Ramblers is the trading name of the Ramblers Association, Great Britain's leading walking charity. The Ramblers is also a membership organisation with around 100,000 members and a network of volunteers who maintain and protect the path ...

with grant aid from Hampshire County Council and Eastleigh Borough Council. The route was altered and improved in 2008.

Route

The northern part of the path is within the

South Downs National Park The South Downs National Park is England's newest national park, designated on 31 March 2010. The park, covering an area of in southern England, stretches for from Winchester in the west to Eastbourne in the east through the counties of Ham ...

and follows the valley of the River Itchen from close to its source at Hinton Ampner. The route passes the springs at the head of the river, before running through New Cheriton, Cheriton. At

Tichborne Tichborne is a village and civil parish east of Winchester in Hampshire, England. History In archaeology in the south of the parish within the South Downs National Park is a bell barrow, bowl barrow and regular aggregate field system immediate ...

, after touching the edge of

New Alresford New Alresford or simply Alresford ( or ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Winchester district of Hampshire, England. It is northeast of Winchester and southwest of the town of Alton, Hampshire, Alt ...

, the path cuts the corner to Ovington. The river is crossed several times, to

Itchen Stoke Itchen Stoke and Ovington () is an English civil parish consisting of two adjoining villages in Hampshire, England, west of Alresford town centre in the valley of the River Itchen, north-east of Winchester, and south-east of Itchen Abbas. I ...

, Avington and

Itchen Abbas Itchen Abbas is a village on the River Itchen about north-east of Winchester in Hampshire, England. The village is part of the Itchen Valley civil parish. A major oil pipeline from Hamble to Aldermaston runs through Itchen Abbas. Parish c ...

. From here the path stays on the right bank to Martyr Worthy. Between Martyr Worthy and

Abbots Worthy Abbots Worthy is a small village in the City of Winchester district of Hampshire, England. It is in the civil parish of Kings Worthy. Abbots Worthy lies on the A33 about to the north of Winchester. Abbots Worthy is included within the civ ...

the Itchen Way,

King's Way King's Way or the Allan King Way is a footpath in Hampshire, England. This footpath was created by the Hampshire Area of the Ramblers' Association as a memorial to the late Allan King a former Publicity Officer who was partly responsible f ...

St. Swithun's Way St Swithun's Way is a long-distance footpath in England from Winchester Cathedral, Hampshire to Farnham, Surrey. It is named after Swithun, a 9th-century Bishop of Winchester, and roughly follows the Winchester to Farnham stretch of the Pilgrim ...

and

Three Castles Path The Three Castles Path is a 60-mile long-distance footpath in England from Winchester Great Hall, Hampshire, to Windsor Castle, Berkshire, via the ruins of Odiham Castle (also known as 'King John's Castle'). Winchester Great Hall is the only s ...

form a network either side of the river, allowing various routes to be followed. From Martyr Worthy the waymarked Itchen Way crosses the river twice to loop through Easton. Back on the right bank the path passes through a tunnel under the M3 motorway to

, before again crossing the Itchen to join the Three Castles Path (St. Swithun's way and King's Way continuing to Winchester on the right bank). Heading south the Itchen Way passes under the A34 before running parallel with the former route of the former

Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway The Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway (DN&SR) was a cross-country railway running north–south between Didcot, Newbury and Winchester. Its promoters intended an independent route to Southampton and envisaged heavy traffic from the Midl ...

between the Winnall Moors nature reserve and the Winnall industrial estate. After a short section along roads it enters Winchester at Durngate. The route then passes along the river through the historic centre of Winchester before following the

Itchen Navigation The Itchen Navigation is a disused canal system in Hampshire, England, that provided an important trading route from Winchester to the sea at Southampton for about 150 years. Improvements to the River Itchen were authorised by Act of Parliame ...

, again running parallel with the former railway past the foot of St. Catherine's Hill. After again passing under the M3 at the foot of

Twyford Down Twyford Down is an area of chalk downland lying directly to the southeast of Winchester, Hampshire, England next to St. Catherine's Hill and close to the South Downs National Park. It has been settled since pre-Roman times, and has housed a ...

, the Navigation and path cross to the west of the river, past Shawford,

Otterbourne Otterbourne is a village in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately south of Winchester and north of Southampton. At the 2011 census, its population was 1,539, and there were 626 dwellings. There are three public houses in the village ...

and Allbrook,

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the 2011 census. The town lies on the River Itchen, ...

and

Bishopstoke Bishopstoke, a village recorded in the Domesday Book, is a civil parish in the borough of Eastleigh in Hampshire, England. Bishopstoke was also mentioned when King Alfred the Great's grandson King Eadred, granted land at "Stohes" to Thegn Aelfr ...

. A short diversion beyond Bishopstoke gives access to

Itchen Valley Country Park Itchen Valley Country Park is a country park in West End, Hampshire, England. As the name suggests, the River Itchen runs through the park, which covers .

. South of the M27 the path crosses the western suburbs of

Southampton Southampton () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire, S ...

. From the mouth of the river at Weston Point,

, an extension of the path runs inland to Millers Pond and

Sholing station Sholing railway station is a railway station serving the suburb of Sholing, on the edge of Southampton, England, operated by South Western Railway. It is the finishing point of the Itchen Way, a 32-mile long-distance footpath. Upgrades In ...

. However, taking this route back-to-front, ie South to North will take a rambler from urban Southampton into the countryside and the route ends at the Wayfarer's Walk which enables the journey to be extended.

Other paths

Between Weston Shore and the Itchen Toll Bridge the path shares its route with the

Solent Way The Solent Way is a long-distance footpath in Hampshire, southern England. With the exception of a few inland diversions, the path follows the coast of the Solent, the sea strait that separates the mainland from the Isle of Wight. The Solent ...

. The northern end joins the

Wayfarers Walk The Wayfarer's Walk is a 71 mile long distance footpath in England from Walbury Hill, Berkshire to Emsworth, Hampshire. The north-west end is at the car park on top of Walbury Hill, near to the landmark Combe Gibbet, and the south-east end ...

. The path also crosses, joins or shares sections of route with a number of long distance paths converging on Winchester, including the

South Downs Way The South Downs Way is a long distance footpath and bridleway running along the South Downs in southern England. It is one of 16 National Trails in England and Wales. The trail runs for from Winchester in Hampshire to Eastbourne in East Su ...

Clarendon Way The Clarendon Way is a recreational footpath in Hampshire and Wiltshire, England. It starts beside the waters of the River Itchen in the centre of Winchester and ends near the River Avon at Salisbury Cathedral. The path passes through the C ...

Pilgrims' Trail The Pilgrims' Trail is a 155-mile long-distance footpath that connects Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire, England to Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy. The UK section of the footpath passes through the towns of Owslebury and Bishop's Waltham as wel ...

and

. The

Monarch's Way The Monarch's Way is a long-distance footpath in England that approximates the escape route taken by King Charles II in 1651 after being defeated in the Battle of Worcester. It runs from Worcester via Bristol and Yeovil to Shoreham, West S ...

crosses at Shawford.

Waymarking

The footpath is

waymarked Trail blazing or way marking is the practice of marking paths in outdoor recreational areas with signs or markings that follow each other at certain, though not necessarily exactly defined, distances and mark the direction of the trail. A blaz ...

by metal disks attached to wooden posts and adhesive stickers and these show a yellow arrow on a dark green background and the words The Itchen Way in the yellow arrow. Between these waymarks there are intermediate standard footpath waymarks bearing the Hampshire County Council logo. There is only limited waymarking in the urban area of Winchester. In Southampton it is waymarked by adhesive stickers on street furniture with the approval of Southampton City Council.

Points of interest

The path crosses a variety of rural and urban landscapes. These include watercress beds and

water meadows A water-meadow (also water meadow or watermeadow) is an area of grassland subject to controlled irrigation to increase agricultural productivity. Water-meadows were mainly used in Europe from the 16th to the early 20th centuries. Working water-m ...

along the upper river, the historic centre of Winchester and the Iron-Age fort of St Catherine's Hill. Along other parts of the route are remains of the

including Hockley Railway Viaduct, and former locks on the Navigation. Landmarks further south include

Southampton Airport Southampton Airport is an international airport located in both Eastleigh and Southampton, Hampshire in the United Kingdom. The airport is located north-north-east of central Southampton. The southern tip of the runway lies within the Sout ...

and the Itchen toll Bridge. At the southern end are views of

Southampton Docks The Port of Southampton is a passenger and cargo port in the central part of the south coast of England. The modern era in the history of the Port of Southampton began when the first dock was inaugurated in 1843. The port has been owned and op ...

and the

Solent The Solent ( ) is a strait between the Isle of Wight and Great Britain. It is about long and varies in width between , although the Hurst Spit which projects into the Solent narrows the sea crossing between Hurst Castle and Colwell Bay ...

and

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

Transport links

The southern starting point is Sholing station. Villages along the route between New Cheriton and Winchester are served by the 67 bus to Winchester and

Petersfield Petersfield is a market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is north of Portsmouth. The town has its own railway station on the Portsmouth Direct line, the mainline rail link connecting Portsmouth a ...

, both of which have main line stations; service 64 also links

to Winchester and Alton. There are also stations close to the route at

Bitterne Bitterne is an eastern suburb and ward of Southampton, England. Bitterne derives its name not from the similarly named bird, the bittern, but probably from the bend in the River Itchen; the Old English words ''byht'' and ''ærn'' together mea ...

and Shawford.

External links

Guidebook to the RouteItchen Valley Country ParkStagecoach - 67 bus timetableStagecoach - 64 bus timetable

References

{{reflist Footpaths in Hampshire Long-distance footpaths in England