Carter's Clay Walk -5 miles

1 . There is a make shift lay-by (the post box in the picture has now been removed) that can hold two cars. Leave your car here and head north up the lane towards the large house on the right.

2

About 200m up the lane, a track goes off to the right. Take this track and continue past the houses on the right.

3

To the left of the final house is a "V" shaped stile and then, almost immediately a second stile into a field.

4. Once in the field, turn left and continue along the field's boundary.

Continue past the marker on the left showing where the oil pipeline from the Fawley oil refinery is buried, until you come to the end of the field.

5

Take the track at the end and then go over the stile.

6

Walk through the field to the top right hand corner and go over the stile into the copse of trees planted in straight lines. Go over the next stile into a field which heads up hill. Cross this field diagonally to the top left hand corner.

7

When we walked this in February 2017 there was a stile, but a metal kissing gate was may have replaced this. Which ever it is, go through or over it and turn right along the wooded path.

8

At the end of this path are a number of gates and a cross roads of paths. Take the stile and go straight on, along the thin wooded path.

10

Turn left across the green, admiring the large house on the right. In the left hand corner you will find a lane.

11

At the end of this little track you will come to another green surrounded by houses. Continue along the edge until you get to the left hand corner.

12

Turn left past the white house, through the gate and up the track.

13

Where the track becomes a footpath, turn right and follow the wider track up hill.

14

At the top of the hill the path opens out and follows the ridge.

Look back at the view of the village and open countryside.

15

There are a number of seats along this stretch to sit and admire the view. This is a good point at which to have a picnic.

16

At the end of the ridge there is a crossroads. Follow the track to the left.

The rest of the route basically follows this track gently downhill until you end up back where you started.

Look back at the house with the white tower. This was a semaphore tower.

19

Keep climbing stiles to continue on the same route.

20

When the field runs out, the paths shoots off to the right and becomes a lane.

Continue past the house and the underground reservoir on the left, through the farmyard and keep heading down the track until it becomes a tarmac lane.

21

Head on down hill until you end up back where you started.