Kingsclere & Hannington. 12 miles (525586, Explorer 144)

This walk starts from public car park off Swan Street, Kingsclere.

Leave the car park and turn left up road. Continue ahead to pass through metal barrier and bear left to pass through wooden gate onto playing fields. Pass the playground and bear diagonally left towards wooden barrier across enclosed footpath, just to left of park bench. At T-junction turn right onto track and at later paths’ intersection keep ahead bearing left. Continue uphill to reach road and stay on road until it turns sharply left. Take bridleway on right and where track bends sharply right, bear left and continue downhill to reach road. Cross road and continue uphill to meet crossroads at top of hill. Keep ahead with woods on left, and later pass through left-hand edge of woods ignoring path to right to emerge from woods. Pass through farmyard (Balstone Farm) leaving large brick building on your left. Continue ahead on road and at road junction turn right. Where road turns right left, turn left onto Right of Way and shortly turn right by stile to follow footpath keeping to right-hand edge of field. Cross open field and pass through gap in hedge bearing right along field edge. At waymark bear half left across field down to road.

Turn left and shortly right between farm buildings leaving brick building on your left. Turn left at end of buildings to follow footpath on right, aiming for left-hand end of box tall hedge ahead. Turn right onto gravel track leading onto road. Keep ahead, continue on drive down to road and turn right. Pass road junction to right, continue ahead and where road bends sharply left, take track on right. Take bridleway on right to follow line of trees on grassy path, the “Wayfarer’s Walk”(WW). Continue along edge of woods, cross track still on WW. Follow well-defined track through woods and open farm land. At T-junction follow the path to right and turn left by farm buildings. Continue up stony track to turn right onto path at top of hill, still WW. Cross field to smaller gap in hedge opposite, continue ahead and pass to left-hand side of barn. Cross stile down to road, cross road and bear slightly right past Flint Cottage sign to finger post and style ahead. Cross field to stile opposite, continue ahead to cross double stile on right. Follow path across field and on leaving the grassy path turn right across corner of field under telephone wires aiming for houses opposite on hill. Pass through gap in hedge to follow enclosed footpath to reach road. Turn left into the village of Hannington.

Continue past the village green and at T-junction with triangle in the middle turn left. Pass through metal gate onto bridleway on right. Pass under power cables and turn left before reaching next field. Follow track around to right to pass along right-hand edge of woods. At junction by water tower at top of hill continue ahead across open fields. On reaching crossing track, turn left, ignoring track to right leading uphill. Just before road, take steps up on right, and pass through swing gate onto playing fields. Follow left-hand edge of playing fields to leave through wooden gate in bottom left-hand corner. Bear right down path and continue down road back to car park on right.

If you encounter any problems with this walk please contact Richard or Nick.