Winchester
On this walk, children will enjoy taking the high road along the viaduct, exploring the ruins of Wolvesey Castle, getting cake from Hospital of St. Cross, going inside the City Mill and the many opportunities to get close to the River Itchen.
Going over the top of Hockley Viaduct
The Basics
Time: 2 hours (options for making it quicker below)
Distance: 7.6 km / 4.7 miles
Terrain: Flat, well surfaced paths and pavements around the city. Unsurfaced meadow paths on the full circuit over the viaduct.
Pushchairs: Pushchairs will be able to make it around all the paths other than the meadows after the viaduct - see below for how to avoid that.
Dogs: Dogs are welcome on this walk, but will need to be on leads around the city.
Refreshments: The Handlebar Café located by the car park, The Hospital of St. Cross tea room , Winchester City Mill café or other options in the city.
Toilets: Toilets can be found at Winchester City Mill.
Public Transport: There are multiple public transport options as you can join this walk from Winchester City Centre. Aim to alight buses at The Broadway and join the walk at Winchester City Mill in section 7 below. Alternatively busses 61 from Eastleigh and 69 from Fareham stop at Hockley Viaduct at the other end of this walk.
Parking: There is a small, free car park on Garnier Road, beside the bridge (Postcode: SO23 9NP - W3W: ///residual.lads.rinses). If this is full there is also some parking at the side of Garnier Road. Other options include the nearby park and ride or Chesil Street multi storey.
The Itchen comes into view multiple times along this walk
Leave plenty of time for this walk beside the River Itchen as there is a wealth of diversions en route including St Catherine’s Hill, Hockley Viaduct, Hospital of St. Cross, Wolvesey Castle, Winchester City Mill and Winchester Cathedral. We think this could win the award for the walk with the most places to stop!
The Route
For the sake of this description, we will start the route at Garnier Road car park. If you couldn’t get a space and parked elsewhere, you will need to adapt the order according to your start point.
Pushchairs will not make it over the meadows after the viaduct. Part of the description below will describe how to adapt the route.
Look out for other points in the description where you could chose to cut the walk short if you would like.
Leave the car park with the river on your right and follow the wide path beside the Itchen Navigation (if you want to add even more to your walk, you could instead go under the old railway bridge in the car park and following the path up to the top of St. Catherine’s Hill and down the steps on the other side, exiting via a gate back onto the riverside path. This is not included in the distance and timings above).
Continue along the riverside path until you go under a brick bridge. Just after the bridge, you will be presented with a choice of three paths. The right hand one will take you across to the other side of the water meadows on a shorter circuit and the middle one will take you on our full route and onto Hockley Viaduct (although you can get onto the viaduct with a pushchair, you will not be able to continue at the other side, so pushchairs should take the right-hand path and re-join the description in section four below).
Cross the viaduct and go through a barrier on the other side to emerge at a busy road. Turn left and walk along the grass verge for a short distance before spying a narrow footpath on your left that doubles back. Go down the path getting away from the road and the arches of the viaduct will come into view. Take the gate at the end of the path to go under the viaduct and come out in a cow meadow. Do not be afraid, the cows are behind an electric fence. Walk to the opposite side of the meadow to another gate and then enter another meadow. The path is less obvious in this one, but just stick in the same direction and head to the gate on the other side.
Cross over the paved lane (or turn right if coming from the pushchair/shorter route) and go through the gate, entering the land of Hospital of St Cross. Stick to the same path, in the same direction, as you go through a number of gates and pass the ‘hospital’ on your left. There is a tea room at Hospital of St. Cross which is open to the public during the spring and summer.
Continue along the path in the same direction after The Hospital of St. Cross and you will have some more glimpses of the river, including a shallow spot where dogs and children may like to paddle and climb trees. Keep going until you meet Garnier Road (If you want to cut the route short, a right turn here along the road will take you back to your car).
To see more of the sights on this walk, continue over the road and along the riverside path, soon passing Winchester College on your left. After the college, the river turns a sharp right and the path ends at a road called College Walk. Turn right here and walk along the street. Take the first left and then turn right at the end of the street, where you will immediately see signs for the entrance to Wolvesey Castle (English Heritage, free). Walk over the painted letters saying, ‘no vehicular access’ and continue forward towards the river again.
Veer left and walk with the river to your right (cross the river at Wharf Mill if you want to cut the walk shorter and not go to the City Mill). Keep going until you reach Bridge Street and Winchester City Mill (National Trust, free). The mill has a café, second hand book shop, water wheels and interactive displays.
If facing the mill, turn right and cross the bridge towards the little roundabout. Turn right and pass Chesil Rectory on your left, which is a restaurant housed in a six-hundred year old timber frame building (If you parked at the multi-storey, you would join the walk here). Continue along the road until you reach the Black Boy pub, where you should turn right. Keep veering left as the road bends round and then cross the road when you see Wharf Mews and follow a green sign for The Itchen Navigation.
Go right when you reach the tennis courts, walking with the courts to your left to reach the river. Turn left and walk along the river until you get to Garnier Road and the car park.
Although not detailed on this description, it would be very easy to add Winchester Cathedral to this walk around sections 6 & 7.
If you want a playground, you could add on Abbey Gardens near the City Mill in section 7.
Did you know?
Although the viaduct looks splendid in red brick, this is actually a façade. Underneath the brick cladding, the viaduct is almost completely made of concrete, making it one of the earliest concrete structures of its kind.
Hospital of St. Cross is not really a hospital, but a charitable foundation offering help to the poor since the 12th century.
Winchester College is considered the oldest school in England and one of the most prestigious.
Wolvesey Palace was the fine residence of the Bishops of Winchester, who were rich and powerful men.
If you enjoyed this walk…
…next time try adding on this climb up St. Catherine’s Hill
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:
