Length: 15.2 km (9.5 miles)
Toughness: 2 out of 10
London Waterloo: 10-09 hrs SouthWest train service to Portsmouth Harbour (does NOT stop at Clapham Junction ) Woking: 10-34 hrs Winchester: 11-19 hrs
Arrive Botley: 11-38 hrs
Clapham Junctioners: 10-12 hrs SouthWest train service to Weymouth
Arrive Winchester: 11-04 hrs Change trains
Leave Winchester: 11-19 hrs - on Portsmouth Harbour train - as above
Arrive Botley: 11-38 hrs
Return
Netley to Waterloo via Fareham: 02 mins past the hour
Netley to Waterloo via Southampton Central: 18 mins past the hour
Both journeys just over 2 hours
Rail ticket: buy a day return to Netley
Covid-19 Compliance: [until 19 July 2021] please note the current guidance on this website and observe social distancing. You should all come prepared to exchange contact details for track and trace purpose. You can either pre-register for this walk (not essential ) by e-mailing me at swc-marcus@walkingclub.org.uk or, if you prefer, please write your name, e-mail address and contact 'phone number on a small piece of paper for handing to me on the train or when we assemble at walk start. Thank you.
This is a seaside walk with a difference. In the morning, after walking along the road from the railway station to the centre of Botley, you cross fields before dropping down by Manor Farm and Country Park then woods on the Strawberry Trail to reach a number of coves on the River Hamble. Swimmers might like to try one of these for a pre-lunch dip. Picnickers can then pick a spot nearby for their lunch. Then its on along the edge of woodland and over fields to Lower Swanwick near Burlesdon, where those seeking a pub lunch have a choice. The Navigator pub (Harpers Steakhouse) is popular, but the Marina Cafe in the Premier Swanwick Marina is also good - as is Bistro 8 Bar and restaurant in the Universal Marina, which you come to circa 25 mins after the Navigator.
You next have a relaxing, flat 3 km walk on a causeway next to the River Hamble, passing moored yachts and marinas along the way. You come to a small shelter in colour shocking pink. This is the waiting place for the Warshash Ferry - also a vision in shocking pink. Make sure you get to the shelter [!] by latest 4 pm for the last crossing today on this ferry of the River Hamble to the quaint village of Hamble. You next cross Hamble Common to come out onto the beach to Southampton Water. You now walk along the beach (or if you prefer, along the woodland trail to its right ) for some 2 kms until you come to Netley and the Royal Victoria Country Park. Walk up through the park to its Cedar Tea Rooms (Cafe in the Park), your tea stop. From here its about 20 minutes to Netley railway station.
This walk seldom, if ever, gets posted on a Saturday in either direction, let alone in reverse, but on a Summer's day, if we are lucky with the weather, I think you will enjoy it.
Recommended - the long(ish) train journeys are worth it !
T=1.3
Walk Directions are here: L=1.3
3 comments:
Despite its short length this walk has always filled the day very adequately when we have done it as a midweek walk. The swim in the tidal cove of the Hamble River is....interesting - a real wild swim with a difference. I have also swum in Southampton Water from the beach in Netley Park: a surprisingly tranquil place for a dip. I am not sure I would put my face underwater in either spot, however.
There are some good pubs in Hamble and Netley. I know the area quite well, Gavin
This turned out to be a canny choice of walk. No doubt on this W=hot-and-sunny day trains to the coast were rammed. But the slow train to Portsmouth that we used both out and back was an exception. So we enjoyed a nice trip to the sea without the staycation crowds.
I am told to say n=16 on this walk, though one got an earlier train and was not seen all day. Many of the rest were new to this walk. One advantage of doing it in the reverse direction is that the fairly ordinary bits are done first: interest builds to a positively Mediterranean section along Southampton Water at the end.
I was a bit sceptical about swimming in the Hamble River, since the tide was quite low, but we arrived at the cove to find it in full beach mode, with families, paddle boarders, and even an ice cream boat. I have never seen an ice cream boat before and was fascinated by the logistics (how do you control a paddle board while holding an ice cream?) and the economics (how many days does it operate each year? What does the boat do on other days? Where did it head for upriver?)
There was some reluctance about swimming here (this is a tidal estuary and the water was a bit brown and bitty...) but I went in and five joined me. The water was gorgeous and so was the setting once you were out on the water. Only a fair bit of boat traffic prevented me from swimming to the far bank.
Two non-swimmers went for pub lunches, I am told (in different establishments!) and our walk poster went to meet friends. Others picnicked. We swimmers didn’t get to the pub till 2pm and anxious not to miss the last ferry, carried on without stopping. All the others had sandwiches anyway and I managed to get some sausage rolls from a kiosk.
The stretch along the lower Hamble was lovely, with sea lavender among the flowers. We neatly filled a 12 passenger capacity crossing on the little pink boat - it makes it feel like a proper holiday if you have a boat trip - and on the far side stopped for ice cream and tea at the cafe. (Only the English understand how refreshing tea is on a hot day.)
We then had the lovely walk through the woods and out past the oil storage facility and up the beach of Southampton Water. You may laugh, but in the drenching sunshine and with its pine tree backing it really did feel Mediterranean. The beach was busier than I have ever seen it - families, kids in the water, jetskiers, sailing boats.
Three of us swam here. Again, brown seaweedy water near the shore, but lovely once you were out in it, with the view of the park and Netley Chapel one way and distant cruise liners moored in the other. The water temperature was perfect. I could have stayed in forever but was aware those watching my bags wanted to move on.
Some went for the train quite soon (perhaps also hoping for the cafe, which is closed for redevelopment into a restaurant), while we swimmers took longer. But we all ended up on the 18.02 train. The swimmers did a trek into throbbing downtown Netley (a parade of shops) to get beers and salty snacks for the train. We had a jolly chatty ride home via Fareham on not at all busy trains, and stepped off at Waterloo with that happy glowing feeling of having made good use of the day.
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