Beacon Hill
Exton
Children will enjoy ice-cream from a riverside pub garden on this walk.
Wonderful views as you descend into the valley.
The Basics
Time: 1hr 50mins
Distance: 5.6 km / 3.5 m
Terrain: Downhill all the way, and uphill all the way back! Mostly field tracks with a small part of the walk around the village with no pavements. There are stiles on this walk (with dog flaps).
Pushchairs: This walk is not suitable for pushchairs.
Dogs: Dogs must be on leads through farmland.
Refreshments: The half way point of this walk is The Shoe, a celebrated riverside pub in Exton.
Toilets: There are no public toilets on this route.
Public Transport: There is no public transport to this location.
Parking: Free (donations welcome) roadside car park at the top of Beacon Hill Lane at The Beeches (Postcode: SO32 3LG - W3W: ///credible.swordfish.rocky )
The walk is easy to follow; you can see the path you need to be on as it trails off ahead of you.
Beacon Hill has a commanding position overlooking the Meon Valley. There is a nature reserve at the top and farmland on its flanks. The walk is a simple hike down with refreshments at a riverside pub in the pretty village of Exton, before retracing your steps to the summit.
The Route
Go through the main gate signposted Beacon Hill Nature Reserve and NOT over the stile. Follow the track through an avenue of beech trees. When the landscape opens up you will see the trig point stone and you should walk to the right of this, heading down to a gate. Go through the gate, following the sign for the South Downs Way, and follow the enclosed track downhill.
When you reach the road, turn left, and then almost immediately turn left again through a kissing gate into a field with a footpath marked by a tall beacon. There will be wonderful views to your left and as you approach the end of the field, pass a large tree to your left and go through the gap in the fence and continue to the kissing gate that you see down the hill to your left.
The path makes its way through a series of fields, but it is very obvious and easy to follow with its chalky colour as it makes its way towards Exton. You will need to go over stiles (some you can go around) and through kissing gates. Eventually the path will bring you to a metal kissing gate and out onto a narrow path that will take you down to the village.
Turn right at the road, Church Lane, and then turn left at the next junction onto Beacon Hill Lane and then left onto Shoe Lane. You will find the pub here with the main building to your left and the riverside garden to your right. Complete the loop of the village by turning left onto Church Lane at the end of Shoe Lane and then retrace your steps back to the car park.
Did you know?
Beacon Hill is a site of Special Scientific Interest as its chalk grassland is home to a number of rare plants and butterflies. It also has geological interest owing to a round barrow cemetery dating back to the Late Neolithic or Bronze Age.
If you enjoyed this walk…
…try this one at Old Winchester Hill, which is the neighbouring hill that you see on this walk.
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