Basing amid the Grazing and Hackwood in the Backwoods

'Basingjoke' no longer, 'Blazingstoke' is instead a dynamic and economically significant place. Hampshire's largest town will be a convenient starting point from which to explore the unexpected, untouched, undulating countryside southeast of the town on the other side of the M3. The landscape of fields and copses is charming and the buildings are really noteworthy: late-Georgian Hackwood House, set in a vast deer park; Basing House ruins with its outbuildings intact; a large and handsome church (along with two small ones) and some attractive brick and weatherboarded buildings, such as The Crown in Old Basing where we can have a post-lunch drink.

The sights:

Basingstoke: An old market town recorded in the Domesday Book and expanded in the mid 1960s. Now with 114,000 people. A major economic hub and the UK headquarters of many large firms, some of which were encouraged to leave London in the 1970s, with one developer dubbing Basingstoke as 'the Dallas of Hampshire' owing to its high-rise skyline. We'll walk through the Civic Centre and War Memorial Park on the way out and Eastrop Park, its lakes lined with glitzy corporate offices, on the way back. We will pass St Michael's church, a Grade I listed building, largely constructed in the C16 in limestone and flint. Thomas Hardy described the church in 1895 in Jude the Obscure as 'gaunt and unattractive'.

Hackwood Park: A large country estate consisting of 18th-century ornamental woodland, formal lawn garden and a large detached house of 1683-1687, remodelled in 1787 and 1805. The 260-acre (110 ha) grounds contain 23 separately listed structures (statues, fountains, a bridge, Japanese tōrō) a coach house and stables. Sheep and deer graze the grounds behind a haha. The grounds have a higher listing (Grade I) than the house (Grade II*). The public footpath runs close enough to the house.

Tunworth: Small village of farm buildings, a rectory and a church, All Saints, originally Norman, but now mostly of 1854-5.

Mapledurwell: Another small village of farm buildings, larger cottages and houses, pub (The Gamekeepers) and church, St Mary, which is plain Victorian restoration of the original Norman with chancel and weatherboarded bell-turret. The pretty, twisty road layout reflects the late enclosure of land in the village.

Old Basing: A prosperous village almost caught up in Basingstoke's sprawl. The Street contains many old houses. The River Loddon flows through the village. Basing House (built between 1532 and 1561) was destroyed after a 24-week siege during the English Civil War. It was the largest private house built in Tudor times in the country. The Tithe Barn, gatehouse and walled garden are all that remain intact, with the cellars and low walls of the ruins remaining of the house. We'll just see what can be viewed from the road and the park. St Mary's Church is 15th and 16th century, large and handsome, with mellow brick with stone dressings. The four tombs of the Paulet family form a fine composition. The statue of the Virgin and Child on the west front escaped the Puritans by being covered in ivy. 

The route (please click the link to see it):

We'll escape Basingstoke and its shopping centre and housing estates by crossing War Memorial Park and roads south and we'll soon be under the M3 and into Hackwood Park. The footpath will take us through the grounds east then southeast to Tunworth where we'll pick up the Three Castles Path. This will take us to lanes that will head northeast to Mapledurwell via Down Farm, Ragmore and Gary's Farm. At Mapledurwell we'll see the church and have lunch at just over halfway round. 

We'll then follow lanes and footpaths northwest over the M3 on a footbridge and into Old Basing. A dull stretch along a street of suburban houses will bring us to the village centre where we can see the church, the Tithe Barn, the gatehouse to Basing House and perhaps a detour to Barton's Mill for a drink. We'll then head west back into Basingstoke along Eastrop Park and past the bus station to the railway station.

Dogs:

I welcome dogs on all my walks and this walk is highly suitable for them. It has some fields with livestock, but is of moderate length. There will also be a few stiles and roads to negotiate. A dog must be obedient if it is off the lead. 

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(Picture credits: Farmland, Mapledurwell: Photo © Andrew Smith (cc-by-sa/2.0); Pasture, Tunworth: Photo © Andrew Smith (cc-by-sa/2.0); Rose Cottage, Tunworth: Photo © Hugh Chevallier (cc-by-sa/2.0); Farmland, Mapledurwell: Photo © Andrew Smith (cc-by-sa/2.0); The Old Rectory, Tunworth: Photo © Hugh Chevallier (cc-by-sa/2.0); Mapledurwell, Village Pond: Photo © Colin Smith (cc-by-sa/2.0); The River Loddon: Photo © Mr Ignavy (cc-by-sa/2.0); Thatched House, Old Basing: Photo © Des Blenkinsopp (cc-by-sa/2.0); Old Basing church: Photo © David Martin (cc-by-sa/2.0); Lake in Eastrop Park: Photo © Des Blenkinsopp (cc-by-sa/2.0). All pictures are copyrighted but are licensed for reuse under Creative Commons CC-BY-SA 2.0 and are here attributed to their copyright holders.)