Footpaths from Hook to Rotherwick are urban at first, then tracks through a copse and by fields (Photo 1). The rest of the way into Heckfield is lanes and field paths (Photo 5)....

Martin Ellis

A relaxing Slow Way which follows a stretch of the Brenda Parker Way long-distance path and the course of the River Loddon. The Slow Way joins the Brenda Parker Way on the approach into Rotherwick, which it will stay with all the way to Bramley. The walk into Bramley follows lanes and footpaths (Photo 8), the final wooded path being alongside the railway....

Martin Ellis

From Heckfield, footpaths (Photo 1) and a lane avoid the B3349 although it must be crossed a couple of times. The route to Hook takes a footpath past copses (Photo 4) and then there’s an urban walk into the village centre and amenities....

Martin Ellis

The route starts on a separate footpath through Hook and it’s fairly intuitive. When the route crosses the motorway and turns up to Portbridge Road, it is a bit inaccurate and the footpath itself was overgrown with ferns. I didn’t have any problems following the rest of the route except for the entry to Fleet. The route may seem a bit inaccurate there but rest assured that footpaths to follow are wide or paved so there is no need enter any overgrown path in the woods....

Petr Sadilek

The plotted route and Brenda Parker Way have been diverted slightly between Lilly Mill and the A33, which is easy to miss when walking from Bramley to Hook, but more obviously in the other direction....

Berkshire Walker

The path from Hook town center leads via a separate, narrow paved footpath and pavements and emerges into small woods and a meadow. The turning to a footpath is right after the route passes a truss tower (see the last photo) and the following section of the route is never too far from the overhead line....

Petr Sadilek

6km from Hook, the path is not visible on the ground but it was fairly easy to follow a visible indirect footpath along the edge of the field. When the route crosses B3349 2km before Alton, walkers have to go through a small herd of highland cattle with a long hair and sharp horns....

Petr Sadilek

- GPX drifts from path/cuts a few corners, especially north into Shalden and Weston Patrick heading North - B3349 crossing OK - traffic not too busy, but poor sightline to north when walking Alton-Hook, which can be improved by walking north up road a little way to see round the bend - Five stiles between B3349 and Shalden, all circumvented by walking to Shalden along quiet Southwood Road. No other stiles. - Shortish road walk section at Weston Patrick - possible to shorten road section by using footpaths than run around by Weston Patrick church. Another short road section at Upton Grey....

David Moran

I walked this route back in August 2024, as part of an extended Slow Ways walk from Farnham to Basingstoke....

Smatticus1991

In any case, there are still some pleasant, quiet fields and woodland areas to explore along the way, the site of a Roman Villa nearby (ignominiously built over with a chicken farm), with Odiham village being a good en route stop for food, drink and blister plasters!...

Smatticus1991

The garden centre also has a small cafe inside....

Petr Sadilek

Walking from the Hartley Wintney end, the turning off West Green Road onto the footpath is easy to miss as the sign is well hidden (see photograph with the galvanised gate in the foreground, the sign is above this)....

Frogspawn

This route is slightly longer than Hoohar one but passes through more varied countryside, is likely to be drier under foot (especially in wet conditions), and does not have a resident herd of cows....

mgabgt

Most of the route is easy to navigate, with good paths either paved or through easy countryside....

Gemma E

However, as at March 2022, there is no public transport available from Heckfield and only limited facilities there....

mgabgt

The only downside is the footpath that runs just parallel to the River Whitewater below the A30 just outside hook....

pilea

I'll certainly be walking it again and would certainly recommend it to others!...

danravenellison

This is a lovely route to walk that goes through beautiful villages, woods and fields. I'd 100% walk it again!...

pilea

I really enjoyed walking/running this Slow Ways route....

danravenellison

Pleasant, flattish, easy and varied walk, but extremely muddy in places when walked after heavy rain in February. The footpath is signed through the 'Hortus Loci' garden centre in Hound Green but you have to look for some of the signs. A little further on (when walking from Hook to Heckfield) when going past Turnpike Copse, the well marked footpath takes a slightly different route than that on the map, but ends up in the same place on Laundry Lane....

Frogspawn

The route ends at Heckfield, a Slow Ways node....

mgabgt

A mixture of urban paths and field crossings, which can get quite wet at times. It's safe and accessible. The Footpath signposts across the fields are visible....

Mike Pini

A pleasant, mainly traffic free way of getting from Hook to Hartley Wintney. For approx 1st mile on OS path through fields the going is very difficult in places, mainly due to deep ruts caused by cattle. Extreme care is required....

lhampton

Once on OS path (opposite Crooked Billet) the next km is poorly marked and difficult going due to soft, rutted ground caused by cattle - would be difficult when we and it gets VERY wet....

sharpm01

A lovely varied walk but note that there are several stiles and we encountered lots of cows when we walked it. Could be very muddy in wet weather, and was badly rutted in the fields at the Hook end of the walk, so not suitable for everyone. Took in part of King John’s Ride (see bench in pictures for details)....

Frogspawn

Achieves aim of walking from Hook to Hartley Wintney and is in general a pleasant and varied route....

mgabgt

Leaving Hook you soon reach Bartley Heath. The paths here don't quite match the OS map but it's easy enough to navigate across it with the B3349 and M3 roaring at you to steer you in the right direction. The path the other side of the motorway takes you across a bleak farm field to Lodge Farm which is more of an industrial complex than a farm. Dodging the HGVs was helped by reasonable signage to get you through. You leave Well along a lane with no paths. To make this worse, the path that should take you past Shrub Copse is shut off by an iron gate, forcing you to continue along the road. The highlight of the walk is Husseys Lane and the following walk into Bentley. As far as recommendation goes, it's not much of a walk for pleasure but it's hard to see an alternative way of walking between to two towns....

Phil Smith

Not a good route for those afraid of cows, with three fields, one containing young cows and an electric fence that had to be straddled....

SarahH

From Rectory Road the last 0.5 miles to the centre of Hook is on paved surfaces....

Barry Dale