8.5 miles Itchen Valley

This circular walk starts at the southern edge of Micheldever Wood and takes us south over the downland to the beautiful Itchen Valley. 

We cross the Itchen river through a small nature reserve where "trout spotting" is possible and again as we enter the quaint village of Itchen Abbas where we have a table booked at The Plough, a beautiful, traditional country inn. 

For those wishing to take a picnic, there are benches within the grounds of the historic church of John the Baptist, a peaceful setting just across the road from the inn.

From Itchen Abbas we return to Micheldevor Wood via different tracks and paths and an enchanted section of Itchen Wood.

The total distance is 8.5 miles (5 in the morning and 3.5 in the afternoon). There are no stiles to navigate. The walk includes some short stretches of minor roads with minimal traffic expected.

• Meet: Ready to depart at 10:15 am Thursday 4th December at the car park off the Main Road connecting the A33 to Northington at Nat. Grid Ref. SU529363. The nearest postcode is SO24 9UB but please note that this might take you a few hundred yards to the east of the car park towards Northington. Unfortunately there is no public transport to the start which is only 6 miles from Winchester. Although the car park is quite large, we suggest you car share if you wish to do your bit for the environment. What3words location: ///utter.acting.unwell

• Bring: Food, drink, snacks, waterproofs, stout footwear and warm clothing. The ancient tracks across the downland can be exposed and some of us might feel the cold if the winter weather is unfavourable. Bring poles if you use them although there is only one short, steepish ascent to climb before lunch.

• Lunch: For those planning to have lunch in the pub, we attach a link to the pub lunchtime menu. Please let us know your choices (and allergies, if any) by 6:00 pm on Tuesday 2nd December.  https://theploughia.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Lunchtime-menu-Oct.pdf

We hope you can join us.