I'm sure this would be a beautiful route in the right conditions but unfortunately we had to turn back after only 10 minutes as the river had burst it's bank and the path was completely flooded. We've not had any rain for a few weeks now but the path was still unaccusable. We did meet some walkers equipped with waders and walking poles so if you are going to do this route, make sure you're prepared for flooding....

Joanne

Following a lot of rain over Christmas and New Year, the Itchen was flooded across the path in several places particularly in the middle section beyond Shawford....

Paul Coverdale

At this point the Clarendon Way continues further south towards St Cross, whilst the Kinwin Two route leads down Kilham Lane to busy Romsey Road which it follows into Winchester to join first the Upper High Street and then the attractive pedestrianised High Street leading down to the Guildhall where the route finishes....

Tom Moore

The most confusing section is from Teg Down to Badger Farm, where the green markers are still there for the old route, but the OS Map shows the new route which is more circuitous, but definitely nicer....

abravery

We found that the route once alongside the river was clearly signposted and therefore easy to navigate....

Simon Ferguson

Leaving Winchester one shares the route with the St Swithuns Way and Camino Ingles (St James Way) along the River Itchen. Kings Worthy is the last main settlement before Micheldever Station. There's a direct train between Micheldever and Winchester which makes it an easy route to access....

Clare Mitchell

Also, a much pleasanter route through the outer suburbs of Winchester is via the 'formal' Clarendon Way route which crosses the A3090 near Pitt and then goes on a marked path through South Winchester Golf Club, into Oliver's Battery and then out across Badger Farm Road on a pedestrian footbridge to re-joing the route shown here in Bushfield....

PKDavies

This route basically follows a number of waymarked routes, which are variously called Itchen Way, St Swithun's Way, and Allan King's Way on maps and signposts. It can be muddy and/or overgrown in places, depending on the season, but is generally on well defined footpaths or quiet country lanes. It's one of my favourites!...

Andrew Davies

An informative walk north from Winchester which visits a nature reserve, and the route of a former railway; before crossing farmland to Micheldever Station (pronounced Mitch-el-dever). The footpath north is on the edge of Winnall Moors Nature Research, itself on the western edge of South Downs National Park (Photo 2). There’s a final recrossing of the railway and a footpath that heads north parallel to the line....

Martin Ellis

Beautiful walk across the South Downs from Winchester to New Arlesford taking in parts of the South Downs Way....

Rachel Lundy

We did the reverse of this walk- Winchester to Kings Somborne and it was really easy to follow the route (as getting out of Winchester we had the benefit of local knowledge!) It was fairly muddy in some places, especially coming down from Farley Mount....

The Great Woggle JOGLE

Follows the South Downs Way before turning North to Alresford....

Lee Morse

Muddy and secluded until Fulling Mill, opens up a bit after but remains muddy and inaccessible to those less able to walk unaided. Hilly after Easton but on quiet single lane tarmac road. Three pubs for rest and refreshments but unreliable opening hours, two in Easton, one in Ovington....

Lee Morse

This made it difficult to walk in places but it was all still just about passable. It was mainly off road, on footpaths and permissive pathways across farmland, some sections incorporated B roads/country lanes - which felt safe to walk. I was staying in Winchester and it was very easy to catch the bus back from Alresford at the end of the walk, which was also an opportunity to see a bit more of this lovely county...

Lisa P

The route crosses a number of stiles, and parts of the route include uneven ground. When I walked this route at the end of August 2022, energy lines were being installed on part of the route between Bishop's Waltham and Upham, so I followed the roads to divert around it, then followed the trail back to the obstruction....

Tom

Overall though, it was an easy-to-follow linear route, and with good public transport options at each end it's easy to get home if you're too tired to walk back the other way :) not many spots to be able to sit down and take a break en route though (aside from the aforementioned pub) so bear this in mind if 12k is more than you usually do in one stretch...

Leanne B

If not for the heavy rain good walking shoes should be sufficient for this route....

Adam Kockott

I walked this in early November on a dry day after 2 weeks of torrential rain and the path was muddy but passable and easy to follow....

Shona Goonewardena

Except for this one patch, walking boots would be fine, however due to it I would recommend walking in wellies if there has been bad weather recently....

Tom P

This is a very picturesque route, with lovely views of the river Itchen and the surrounding water meadows....

Chris Puzey

It was a very enjoyable route to walk, although it's pretty long....

thiswormjim

I added a few deviations, inspired by the route of the St James Way, the pilgrims route from Reading to Southampton....

pmostert

Good varied walk, easier walking from Winchester to Alresford rather than other way round. Can be a bit muddy at Cheesefoot Head when wet and later in summer some areas can be a bit overgrown....

Gapjon

Leaving Micheldever Station westwards along a road with good sightlines, then lots of straightish paths to Weston Colley, where the route takes the road towards the railway....

peterbjordan

Interesting water meadows, and generally decent paths. Is susceptible to flooding, particularly in winter, between Otterbourne and Shawford...

JamesBeer

This is a long route and there aren't many obvious seats/benches, though there are a couple mid-way along the route. You can either take the road route, or detour into the water meadows. Water meadows (intended) route:. That will take you onto the intended path through the water meadows....

thiswormjim

Continue beyond the first exit to the main road and take a track through the trees, signed as a footpath on a pole, just before the second exit road. Cross straight over the main road and enter the service road on the opposite side by the red post box. If you have inadvertently come out on a road turn right along the road rather than taking the path downhill the far side of the road....

Romsey Ramble

It is a nice, mostly off-road trail with some beautiful views and it takes a good route into Winchester avoiding the cars and along the river to the Cathedral....

Robbie West

For example the route of Romlor Three could be followed out of Romsey to Halterworth Lane along the footpaths....

nickw4426

It might be worth crossing straight over the Straight Mile and following what looks like another track that runs parallel and rejoins the main road just before it turns into Winchester Road. Route along Winchester Road is very urban/boring; the Romsey to Winchester bus runs along this road & you won't miss anything if you pick up the bus into town at this point....

WanderingWalnut

The first 4km of the route is rather dull, alongside the main road out of Romsey, but the remainder of the journey is really quite pleasant, with forestry tracks, woodland paths, following field boundaries, and finishing alongside the Itchen for the final stage into Winchester....

Ian Deeley

It also crosses a grass airstrip at one point but again this is not busy and it's easy to see at hear whether it's in use at the particular moment....

Jonathan Bramley

This route has a LOT of road walking, has a ridiculous diversion towards the end, and has a few obstructions (stiles, narrow gaps), that make it unsuitable for wheel users. The killer, however, is that a section in the middle of the route is not a right of way....

Ian Deeley

As with Winnew one, this route is suitable for walkers only - indeed it shares the same inaccessible centre section from Martyr Worthy to Itchen Abbas. It has much less road walking, which makes it superior to route one, but I think we can still do better....

Ian Deeley

This route is unsuitable for all except walkers (too many obstructions), so I can only review this as a walking route, and have to mark down the rating accordingly. After a surprisingly short section alongside roads out of Winchester (about 1km), the route is then mostly off-road for the next 8-9km - a pleasant countryside walk, though it gets rather muddy on the approach to the A34/A33 underpass. From there, it is 3km of road walking, albeit in lovely surroundings, until you reach the outskirts of New Alresford....

Ian Deeley

For the road walking segments, about half had a parallel path I could hop over to (took a little creativity, but it was fun exploring), and the other half was just on the road....

mtormey

Instead of following Sarum Road, there are miles of beautiful and fairly direct paths through West Wood and Crab Wood not marked here but just north of the main road, which pass through beautiful nature reserve....

spadgershat

Walked part of this route from bottom of Albrook Hill to Winchester in October 2020. It's a nice level walk along the river into Winchester. Can be muddy and flooded in places particularly after heavy rain....

Andy Attwood

At the time I walked it, a section close to Otterbourne was closed - most likely due to flooding - and as a result a short on road detour was required in order to rejoin the path. It must be noted the path is quite narrow and as a result frequent stops are necessary in order to allow walkers travelling in the opposite direction to pass....

miloh