Cheesefoot Head - Gander Down - Cheesefoot Head

Peter Harper

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Cheesefoot Head - Longwood - Gander Down - Cheesefoot Head

A fine walk across open downland and through pleasant woodland, with a short section along quiet roads in the middle. The walk makes use of sections of the South Downs Way, but is generally quieter than walks around the Cheriton Battlefield area further east and you are unlikely to meet hordes of other walkers. Although reasonably challenging at around eight and a half miles in length, the going is pleasantly undulating and with no stiles to cross, it is accessible to all. There are superb views along the way, especially towards the end as you take the South Downs Way across Gander Down.

England - South England - Hampshire - Countryside

Features

Birds, Great Views, Wildlife, Woodland

8/23/2020 - Andrew Griffin

Completed this walk on 18th August 2020 and all is still pretty much as described in the walk detail. Not sure what caused the previous confusion about points 6-7 but all seemed straightforward to us. I would argue that the short section on quiet roads alluded to in the introduction is anything but! We encountered it on a Tuesday morning and it was relatively busy with cars, HGVs, motorcycles and agricultural vehicles all passing at very regular intervals. The cars, in particular, were travelling at (or, in some cases, beyond) the national 60 m.p.h. speed limit and, in places, there is not even a grass verge for pedestrians to escape onto. There is also a blind bend and partial tree cover making the road dappled with sunlight causing visibility problems for drivers. This section of the walk took us 30 minutes and we found it wholly unpleasant. We are seasoned walkers and found this section frankly scary at times. Not recommended if you have children or dogs with you.

7/14/2017 - andy hasted

Point 6-7- found this a bit tricky. Suggest `............ between fields to trees ahead in the dip. The cinder track turns 90 degrees left. Go straight on through the gate with trees and pylons on your left...... 13. The pale coloured barn has gone but you can still see the footprint as you go by.

1/24/2015 - Anne England

This is a beautiful walk, which I did today in glorious winter sunshine - and only really muddy in a few places easily avoided. But I think I managed inadvertently to slice a mile off the distance because of some confusion at WM 6. When you emerge from the path with the hedge and woodland on the left, you now hit a gravel/cinder track that's actually quite broad. It takes you downhill to the point where, I suspect, your walk instructions indicate that you should'cross a wider track and carry on with trees on your left'. At this point there's now a new-looking fence and gate, and the cinder track simply continues off to your left, passing a Portakabin-type building with a little wooden bench outside. The path is signposted to take you both off along the same track, past this building, or through the gate. So, since your instructions said 'carry on', I mistakenly continued on the track. I stuck to it (it's a bridleway) and eventually hit the same road that you reach at WM 8.