Stoke Park Wood
Bishopstoke
Children will enjoy the open access woodland to play in as well as the play area and ice-cream van at the pub.
Bluebells fill the ancient woodland in spring
The Basics
Time: 1 hour 30 mins
Distance: 5.3 km / 3.3 miles
Terrain: Most of the walk is on firm, flat woodland paths apart from step one below where there are steps and uneven paths through the bluebells. The paths in Stoke Common Park are well surfaced.
Pushchair: The loop detailed on this page is not suitable for pushchairs due to a tight kissing gate and steps. However, many of the paths in Stoke Park Wood are suitable for pushchairs and all of the paths in Stoke Common Park are. Please note that these paths do not include the bluebells.
Dogs: Dogs are welcome on this walk.
Refreshments: The Fox Fair Oak has a garden with children’s play area.
Toilets: There are no public toilets on this walk.
Public Transport: Catch Stagecoach route 69 between Peter Symonds School Winchester and Fareham and alight opposite the Fox and Hounds from where you can join this walk at step three.
Parking: Bishopstoke Cemetery/Stoke Common Park car park off Sewall Drive, free (Postcode: SO50 6DY - W3W: ///port.grapes.feel)
The bluebell walk heads into a wooded valley with a stream at the bottom
Stoke Park Wood is a mixture of managed forest and ancient woodland. The section of older trees has an enchanting arrays of bluebells where the wildflowers tumble down a wooded valley to a stream. In the newer woodland, expect to find wide, easy paths that are good for bikes and pushchairs. A recent addition to the area is Stoke Common Park, a space that was once farmland but is now available for public recreational use and includes well surfaced paths, benches and a picnic area. Our circular walk also includes two more pockets of ancient woodland and a family-friendly pub.
The Route
From the car park, take the path in the opposite direction to the road, past the noticeboard and across a green. Enter the woodland on the other side and then turn immediately left. The path will lead you through some of the older trees, where you will find the best bluebells in April/May. Head down the steps and cross a bridge over a small stream at the bottom. Walk up the bank and then veer right. Proceed along the top of the bank with the stream down the slope to your right. Continue for around three hundred metres until the path ahead begins to peter out. At this point, turn right down the hill, over the stream that flows under the path and up the other side. Continue until you reach a junction with a firmer path.
Turn left and follow the path up to a wide, gravelled forestry track and bear left to join this. Keep straight on the track when a small path crosses, and then slightly further on, keep straight again when a wide path leads down to your right. Soon after this, you will meet a large cross path, where you should turn left. At the next junction, a staggered cross path with a log bench, carry straight on. Go down hill and over a stream running under the path. Just after this, turn left at a junction where there is a log bench with a wooden bird on it.
At the end of this short section of path, go through (or around) the gate, cross the track, and then go through the kissing gate into Crowdhill Copse. Follow the wide, flat path all the way through the copse to the gate on the other side. Go through the gate and turn left. At the finger post continue straight on (or turn right for a short diversion to The Fox pub). Walk up the track with fields to your left.
Go around the gate into Upperbarn Copse. Veer right as soon as you enter and you will find a bench that overlooks the best of the bluebells. Continue along the path with the boundary to your right and when a gate leads out of the copse to your right, turn left and cut across the copse. Cross a main path and continue up to a gate which will take you back out of the woods.
Go through the kissing gate opposite and walk across the open space. Roughly half way across, you will reach a broken fence line and an intersection with another path. Turn right and follow this to the gate that will take you into Stoke Common Park.
Enter Stoke Common Park and follow the new pathway to a central point with picnic benches. Continue straight on and the path will soon bend to the right and bring you close to the edge of Stoke Park Wood. If you want a short-cut back, look out for the cut through down the bank on your left that will take you back down over the stream and up the steps from step one of this walk. Otherwise, continue on the new pathway until you reach the gate out of Stoke Common Park.
Turn left and walk along the lane, passing the fishery behind the hedge to your right. At the housing estate, turn right along a stony path signposted ‘public bridleway’. Turn left when you reach Sewall Drive and follow the signs back to the car park.
As a member, you gain instant access to our complete PDF library of over 200 walks. Members also benefit from special discounts we arrange at some of our favourite pit-stops.
Did you know?
Stoke Common Park has been provided by Eastleigh Borough Council as a SANG (Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace) to mitigate against increased visits to the New Forest. The site was completed in 2025 and includes rich grassland, new hedgerows and trees, log piles, bird and bat boxes, habitats for Great Crested Newts and pathways for walkers.
If you enjoyed this walk…
…try this one just down the road at Itchen Valley Country Park, where you will find more bluebells.
We are passionate about keeping The Ambling Path as a free resource available to everyone, forever. If you have enjoyed using our walking guides, then please consider leaving us a donation. This will help to cover our costs as well as rewarding the considerable time and effort needed to maintain the site. Thank you.
Follow us on social media to see our new walks and get regular updates on our old ones:
