West Meon
Children will enjoy the play area at the recreation ground.
Brockwood Copse is full of bluebells
The Basics
Time: 1 hour 40 mins
Distance: 5.7 km / 3.5 miles
Terrain: Mostly rough and uneven paths through woodland and fields. One uphill section and some quiet country lanes with no pavements.
Pushchairs: This route is not suitable for pushchairs.
Dogs: Dogs are welcome on this walk apart from around the play equipment.
Refreshments: The Thomas Lord pub or a picnic table at the park.
Toilets: There are no public toilets on this walk.
Public Transport: Stagecoach 67 between Petersfield and Winchester stops in the village.
Parking: West Meon Village Hall, Headon View, free (Postcode: GU32 1LH - W3W: ///fizzy.gobblers.clocks)
The ancient lanes of this walk come alive with spring flowers
What a joy this walk was on a sunny spring day! The paths were lined with a multitude of spring flowers and the woodland carpeted with bluebells. There are views as far as Butser Hill and West Meon itself is an attractive village with a traditional community run stores and well-loved pub. To complete the excursion, children will be excited by the new climbing towers and slides in the recreation ground, from where the walk starts.
The Route
The walk will begin at the village hall car park. If facing the village hall, you will see a small gate on the left hand side. Go through this gate and you will immediately see a playground for young children on your left. However, if you walk further into the recreation ground, you will find the new climbing structure for older children, swings, a roundabout and a seesaw. Once done at the recreation ground, walk across the grass in the direction of the church. Keep to the left of a small slope and then take the path out of the park through the gap in the left hand corner. Turn right when you reach the road and walk with the graveyard up to your left.
Just after a metal mesh gate with ‘danger’ signs on it, turn right up the stony track. You will pass a few houses before the track opens up into a field. Continue straight all the way up the left hand side of the field to the top. Don’t forget to look behind you for the views. At the top, look for the hole in the hedge directly in front of you and go through it. Turn left and walk along the track on the other side. Continue along the track until you come to the road.
Turn left at the road and then after just a few metres, turn right at the end of the garden belonging to the barn conversion. The footpath begins to the left of the black rail fencing. The path will take you along the edge of Brockwood Copse and in spring, gradually more bluebells will show themselves as you advance forward. Keep going in the same direction until you reach the road.
Turn left at the road and then after a few metres, turn left back onto a woodland track where there is a ‘no motor vehicles’ sign. This path will take you in a straight line through the middle of Brockwood Copse. Please stay on the path as this is not an open access woodland. Continue until the first path leads off to your left around a six bar metal gate with a ‘no bikes’ sign on it. Follow the path out of the woodland.
Keep left of the fence around Bere Farm and walk past the property. At the end of a green corrugated barn, branch left. The path will soon bring you into a field where you should turn right and walk along the right hand boundary of the field. Keep straight and you will pass a small private woodland to your right. After this, there will be fields to either side of you and then the path will climb to a gate. Go around the gate and cross the road.
Join the footpath directly opposite and walk straight through Lippen Wood. On the other side, cross the tarmac drive and continue on the path on the opposite side. This will soon bring you down onto Church Lane, and if you follow this to your right, it will bring you back down to the church. If you want to visit the pub and the village stores, walk down to the A32 and cross it to join the High Street on the other side.
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?
The remains of a Roman villa were uncovered in Lippen Wood in 1906 and include the outer villa walls, some pillars and a mosaic floor. The site is now overgrown and anything of interest is on show at Winchester museum.
If you enjoyed this walk…
…try a walk another one that starts at West Meon and goes to Warnford.
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:
