Doggedly Doglegging around Dogmersfield

'Doggedly': little in the way of determination will actually be needed on this delectable day walk as we pass through pastureland, parkland and woodland, beside canal, lake and stream and across gently undulating terrain. 'Doglegging': our route will zigzag so that we avoid the worst of the mud, experience the greatest variety, follow the most of a canal, see the best of the sights and reach the pub at lunchtime. Dogmersfield: at the heart of this walk is a village of handsome red-brick and timber houses, chief among them Dogmersfield Park, a demure, dignified classical house of 1728 set among lawns and lakes, and 'King John's Hunting Lodge' which is the same age but prettily 'gothick' in style.

The sights:

Odiham Common: Wood pasture of oak, holly and birch, reminiscent of the New Forest. King John's Hunting Lodge is a cottage orné built originally as an eyecatcher for Dogmersfield Park in the early 1720s in a whimsical 'gothick' style. Its ogee windows and Dutch gables hark back to the 1620s. At its core is a hunting lodge from the 1490s (so built for Henry VII rather than John).

Basingstoke Canal: This 'was constructed in the 1770s, and was intended as a means of carrying agricultural produce from the Hampshire/Surrey areas to the markets in London...The impetus for the construction of the canal in the first place was the Napoleonic Wars. Ships carrying cargoes around the south-east coast of England were at risk from French and other foreign warships, so a safe inland waterway from the Portsmouth area up to London was considered to be of huge benefit and worth the expense of construction.' (From UK Canals | Basingstoke Canal.) At Dogmersfield, the chemistry of the canal water changes from alkaline to acidic, which alters the biology of the ecosystem.

Dogmersfield: A pleasant village of red-brick and timbered houses. The Queen's Head pub is named after Catherine of Aragon, first wife of Henry VIII, who is said to have stayed in the village with her first husband, Arthur, Prince of Wales, Henry's brother.

Dogmersfield Park: A large, plain brick house built in 1728 and since then becoming a Roman Catholic college and a hotel. The interest is mostly inside with some ornate stuccoed rooms remaining after a fire in 1981. A destroyed wing has been rebuilt in a clever copycat style but the blocks of guestrooms built since it became The Four Seasons Hotel look cheap. A formal garden is being developed and the grounds (by Eames) of sweeping lawns and pretty lakes with picturesque bridges are pleasant.

Winchfield: The church of St Mary the Virgin is of 1170 and is tough and solid, standing alone. Opposite is The School House, now a private dwelling, by renowned Victorian architect William Burges. Its double-height windows are impressive.

The route (please click the link to see the route at the Ordnance Survey website):

The Brenda Parker Way along the railway line and a rather grim footpath parallel with the M3 will take us southwest to Totters Lane. This will then take us south to Odiham Wood and Odiham Common. At Broad Oak Bridge, we'll cross the Basingstoke Canal and head south then northeast through Dogmersfield Park, passing Dogmersfield Lake and Tundry Pond. At Blacksmith's Bridge we'll follow the canal north before breaking off to follow Chatter Alley to Dogmersfield for lunch. We'll then head back along Chatter Alley and pick up the canal under the Barley Mow Bridge, then along Sprat's Hatch Lane to cross back across the canal at Sandy Hill Bridge. Bagwell Lane and The Three Castles Path will head north back to Winchfield station.

Dogs:

Dogs are very welcome on all my walks and this is a very good dog walk, with plenty of woods and fields for them to run free, although there will be country lanes and livestock in some fields necessitating the dog going on a lead. A dog off the lead must be obedient. 

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(Picture credits: Farmland, Dogmersfield: Photo © Andrew Smith (cc-by-sa/2.0); The island on Tundry Pond: Photo © Shazz (cc-by-sa/2.0); Odiham - Basingstoke Canal: Photo © Chris Talbot (cc-by-sa/2.0); The Hunting Lodge, Odiham Common: Photo © Hugh Chevallier (cc-by-sa/2.0); Bridge on Tundry Pond: Photo © Hugh Craddock (cc-by-sa/2.0); Barley Mow Bridge: Photo © Mark Percy (cc-by-sa/2.0); Dogmersfield Thatch: Photo © Colin Smith (cc-by-sa/2.0); Bridleway to Sprat's Hatch Bridge: Photo © Hugh Craddock (cc-by-sa/2.0). Winchfield Church: Photo © Andrew Renshaw (cc-by-sa/2.0). The images are copyrighted but are above credited to their copyright holders and are licensed for further reuse under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0).)