In the summer of 1862, Charles Kingsley settled in the Itchen Valley to complete the manuscript of The Water Babies. Starting from an attractive bluebell wood, this walk climbs over the high chalk downs before dropping into the valley to pass the pub where Kingsley wrote much of his classic fable
Itchen Abbas and The Water Babies
June 28, 2025
Winchester, England, United Kingdom
Easy
Distance 11.06 km
Est. duration 02h 10m
Elevation Gain 166 m
Elevation Loss 167 m
Category Hiking
Description
Route
Start
5 m
51.12318, -1.24516
Turn left out of the car park and follow the road for about 200 yards, then fork right under a metal height barrier onto the waymarked bridleway. The trail soon leaves the woods, and from here you may glimpse deer grazing in the fields bordering Itchen Wood. Now the path climbs through a tunnel of trees, bears to the right, and drops gently downhill to a fork.
611 m
51.11823, -1.23524
Bear left, and keep ahead past the turning on your right. After about ½ mile (800m) of steady climb you reach the summit by a derelict windpump, half hidden in the trees on your left. Continue for 100 yards, then fork left, waymarked The Watercress Way, and follow the old drove as it drops to a crossways with Northington Road. Keep ahead here, following the path as it climbs gently between wire fences onto Itchen Stoke Down. As early as 1772 the men of Hambledon Old Club were playing cricket at county level. Their first recorded match here on Stoke Down was against England in July 1778. The Hambledon team lost, but the following year England came back to Stoke Down and was beaten in the return match.
2.13 km
51.10520, -1.20808
The five-way junction on Itchen Stoke Down will try to lead you astray. Ignore the path that trails in from your left, and turn 90 degrees to your right onto a pleasant, grassy path between hedges of hawthorn and dog rose. A short mile farther on, cross the silent tracks of the Mid-Hants Railway, bear right, and drop smartly down to the B3047.
3.19 km
51.09399, -1.22361
Turn right along the road, and almost immediately turn right again at a fingerpost, passing through a kissing-gate, waymarked The Watercress Way. At the top of a short rise, hop over a stile and head left towards housing. Pass through a metal kissing-gate and walk along the residential road to a T-junction. Turn right along the lane. To see the village and visit The Plough, shortly after joining Rectory Lane, head off left up a couple of steps at the waymarked fingerpost and follow the path all the way to a housing access drive. Here, bear right and follow the road past the primary school (left), and at the T-junction turn left into Itchen Abbas. In Charles Kingsley's best-known story, many of Tom's underwater adventures almost certainly took place in the Itchen, where Kingsley made the most of the peace and quiet for a few days fishing. Retrace your steps and continue past School Lane up to the old railway bridge
4.35 km
51.09508, -1.23685
Just beyond the bridge, turn right through a wooden gate. The path follows a fence on the right up to a kissing-gate. Go through and rise along the field-edge path, passing through a wide hedge/fence gap. At the next broad gap, follow the field edge to the left. In 100 yards, opposite a hedge-gap on the left, a path strikes out diagonally right to the field corner and Rectory Lane but if a crop is concealing the way, follow the field headland to the lane.
4.79 km
51.09869, -1.22907
Turn left up the lane and keep ahead onto the hedged green lane when you reach the crossways at Spreadoak Cottages. The lane climbs steadily for about ½ mile (800m), and it's worth stopping regularly to admire the unrivalled views of the Itchen Valley opening up behind you. After winding through a couple of double bends the lane bypasses a metal gate, then drops gently beside a wire fence on your right. A second gate heralds the T-junction where you rejoin your outward route.
6.16 km
51.11726, -1.23371
Turn left, then right, and retrace your outbound route back to Micheldever Wood car park.
11.06 km
Finish