Green Lanes, Ghost Villages and Golf Balls

The scenery of northeast Hampshire is so special that a section of the South Downs National Park has been stretched north to safeguard it. And so as the year enters its darkest, dreariest phase, we'll depart to discover its delights: the tree-lined, trough-like trackways; the sweeping splays of the Downs; the distinguished dwellings; the productive wood-pasture; the upwelling winter-bournes. Green Lanes: Just one so-called, but many routes are lined with trees, the holly and ivy evergreen. Ghost Villages: Just one, in truth: Hartley Mauditt, with only its church, pond and a few ghosts left. Golf Balls: Giant radome globes and dishes at RAF Oakhanger, their visibility belying their secrecy.

The sights:

Holybourne: Almost a suburb of Alton, but a village with its own character. Red brick and timber-framed houses. Andrews Endowed Primary School, 1721-30, remodelled late C18. Neatham Manor Mill, C18 and C19.

Wyck: A pretty hamlet of thatched cottages and imposing malmstone houses in Binstead Parish.

Binswood: The Woodland Trust writes: 'One of only a few lowland woodland pastures that are maintained by the traditional method of grazing by commoners’ stock. A wonderful mosaic of woodland and grassland. A fantastic range of fungi and lichens cling to the ancient trees...If you want to see how the medieval landscape might have looked, this is the place to visit.'

Shortheath Common: A local nature reserve, Site of Special Scientific Interest and ancient common land of 58 hectares with a range of habitats, principally heathland and woodland and a wet valley mire.  

Oakhanger: A hamlet between the hangers of Alton and the heaths of Bordon. St Mary Magdalene Church, a brick-built chapel of 1873.

RAF Oakhanger: Built in 1954 for the use of experimental space communications and tracking Skynet forces satellites. Bought out by a private company, EADS Astrium, in 2003 and now privately run to track communication satellites. One of the four radomes has been converted into a home.

Hartley Mauditt: The church of St Leonard is on its own by the village pond, but stood up until the 18th century beside the manor house and village, now all lost. Church dates from 1125 and in a transitional Norman-Gothic style, rebuilt in the 13th century. Tales of ghosts abound, including that of the miller who emerges from the pond on his horse.

West Worldham: A scattered hamlet of sturdy, solid homes and a C13 church, St Nicholas, which has an all-in-one nave and chancel.

Dogs:

I love having dogs on my walks and this walk is very suitable for them. It is of moderate length and has no fields with livestock. However there will be a number of stiles and roads to negotiate. A dog must be obedient if it is off the lead. 

The route: Please note the walk will proceed anticlockwise and so this description will be in reverse:

A route out of Alton London Road and through Holybourne will lead us over the River Wey to Neatham. Footpaths and lanes will take us into the South Downs National Park to Wyck, and then, heaidng southeast along Green Lane, across the B3004 to Binswood and out past Rookery Farm to the east to Shortheath for lunch by its pond. We'll then head to Oakhanger village for a drink at The Red Lion. A loop along footpaths around the RAF base will lead us back to the lane to Hartley Mauditt which we'll follow past Hartley Wood to the church and village pond. Finally, at West Worldham, we'll head back to Alton along Water Lane, which if it lives up to its name, we'll avoid and use other footpaths instead. A walk along Windmill Hill then Lower Turk Street, then footpaths through Mount Pleasant and along the Watercress Line railway will take us back to the Alton Station.

(Picture credits: Poles Leaning Against an Oak Tree near King John's Hill by N Chadwick; Golf Balls at Oakhanger by Colin Smith; RAF Oakhanger by Colin Smith; Hangers Way through Hartley Wood by N Chadwick; Footpath by Oakhanger Stream by Colin Smith; Footpath through Binswood by N Chadwick; Footpath to Wyck Lane by Robin Webster; Lane to Hartley Mauditt by Robin Webster; Shortheath Pond, Oakhanger by Colin Smith; Hampshire Thatch, Oakhanger by Colin Smith; St Leonard's Church, Hartley Mauditt; A Quiet Corner of the Churchyard at Hartley Mauditt by Basher Eyre; Thatched Cottage, Hartley Mauditt by Colin Smith; Converted Barn at Wyck by Shazz. (All images licensed for reuse under Creative Commons).)