Catherington Lith
Horndean
Children will enjoy searching for the wooden carvings scattered throughout this walk.
There are wooden sculptures to find throughout the Lith
The Basics
Time: 50 mins
Distance: 2.8 km / 1.7 miles
Terrain: Fields, woodland paths, kissing gates. Fields can be muddy in winter.
Pushchair: Pushchairs would struggle to access the lith from Catherington due to the kissing gates and steps. There is a small amount of parking on the Horndean side, which has better access for pushchairs. This is found by turning right at the very top of Lith Avenue.
Dogs: Dogs will need to be on leads around the village and through pony paddocks. The pub is dog friendly.
Refreshments: The Farmer Inn, a picnic area in the paddock next to the car park or Dolly’s coffee van at Jubliee Park..
Toilets: The toilets are open at Jubliee park Monday to Thursday until 3pm.
Public Transport: There are no bus services to Catherington, but you could walk up Lith Avenue and start the walk from Horndean. Use Stagecoach service 37 between Havant and Petersfield and alight at Downwood Way.
Parking: Free car park opposite the school on Catherington Lane. (Postcode: PO8 0TD - W3W: ///origins.essential.restriction)
Some of the tree sculptures hidden around the lith
Whilst the grown ups admire the bluebells, wood anemone and other flowers that grow in this little woodland in spring, children can be kept entertained as they look out for the exquisite tree carvings hidden throughout this walk. The route will also take you almost through the door of the Farmer Inn! Just down the road is a lovely play area at Jubilee Park with equipment for all ages as well as Dolly’s coffee van serving a range of drinks and treats.
The Route
Leave the car park, cross the road and turn left along the pavement. Shortly, turn right through the black wooden lychgate into the churchyard. Pass the church on your left and at the far boundary go through the gate in the hedge where a footpath sign leads into a paddock. Follow the footpath straight ahead, keeping the electric fence to your left and head down the hill to a kissing gate.
Go through the gate and then down a few steps onto a gravelly path. Pass an information board as the path bends to the right. Along this section of path, you will find carving 1. Fork up to the right just past a garage and the gate of a house called Three Bears. As the path levels out, bend left, keeping the garden fence to your left.
Continue along the path and you will see carving 2 at the side of the path. After this, look out for a little information board about bluebells, turn right up the path by the sign and look our on your right for carving 3. Return down to the main path to continue the walk. Back on the path, walk until you come to a gate. Go out of the gate to leave the nature reserve along an access track. When you reach a junction, you will see a gate on your right. Beside the gate is carving 4.
Go through the gate back into the woodland and very shortly on your right you will see carving 5. Keep going along the path and you will spot carving 6 on your left. The path will fork again when you reach carving 7. Bear left here, and then left again, and pass an information board next to a gate. Use the gate to exit the lith into a large open space.
Turn right and walk with the hedge to your right until you reach a metal kissing gate. Go through the gate and turn immediately left to walk along the hedge with an electric fence to your right. Go through the next metal kissing gate and then cross the pony paddock all the way to the other side. Exit the paddock and cross the car park of The Farmer Inn and return to Catherington Lane. If you want to finish your walk, you can turn right to return to the car park.
If you fancy finding another couple of carvings with only a small bit of extra distance, cross the road and take the footpath opposite to the left of a house with a ship in the window. The path passes narrowly between properties before opening to an orchard. Cross the orchard on the permissive footpath to the opposite side. Turn right when you reach the edge and you will see carving 9 to your left. Continue past Hooty the Owl and take the path across Parsonage Field. This will lead you to the road or the car park. Just up the road from the car park is a paddock with picnic benches (dogs allowed in on leads). At the far end of the picnic area in the trees is carving 10, which is a rather fine woodland chap in the form of a large seat.
We really like Jubilee Park on the border between Catherington and Horndean. It has an enclosed play area for little ones, an outdoor gym, basketball court, zip-line, tyre swing and a recently revamped climbing area and slide for older children. You can walk there on the pavement by following Catherington Lane in the direction of Horndean, but it isn’t the nicest walk being beside a busy road. It takes about a minute to drive there from the car park in Catherington and has its own large, free car park.
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Jubilee Park:
Did you know?
The carvings were created by the talented Michael Jones of ‘Man and His Dog Carvings’. He was commissioned by Horndean Parish Council to transform the stumps left behind after the necessary tree felling caused by ash die-back disease and was then invited back in 2025 to add four new carvings.
If you liked this walk…
…try this one at Banstead Wood where you will find wooden carvings with a Narnia theme.
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