Final 6 mile Pink Ferry walk CANCELLED

The last walk by the traditional route across the common, for seven years!!

A company called Cemex will extract two million tons of gravel and sand from the common, closing it to walkers. The good news is that it will then be made into a lovely lake; the bad news is that this will not happen until 2033!

We will be walking from the Old Ship Inn, a Grade II listed building from the 16th century. It is just over 500 yards from the far side of Bursledon bridge, on the right, with the car park just beyond the pub.

The walk leaves the pub, crosses Bursledon Bridge, and then turns off the road into a series of lanes. It then passes through a wood, over a little stream, across a common, and eventually into Hamble le Rice, where it winds its way down a cobbled street to the river Hamble. Traditionally, ice creams have been bought from the Beach Café, before boarding the pink ferry (£3.00 per person, cash only), and crossing the Hamble. We then walk for about 2¼ miles up the beautiful path along the river, passing marshes, woods and a number of marinas, before returning to the Old Ship. There are no stiles on the walk. 

An advantage of starting from the Old Ship is that the most beautiful part of the walk, along the estuary, comes at the end, finishing a few minutes before the pub.