A CPRE Hampshire guided walk led by local campaigner Chris Gillham.

Join us on 12th September to entwine past and present through a fascinating guided walk of St Catherine's Hill and the surrounding chalk downland.

As the gateway to the South Downs National Park and a beacon above the historic city of Winchester, St Catherine's Hill and its surrounding landscape has a wild story to tell. It has been an iron age settlement, a burial ground for the plague, a symbol of protest and resiliance and one of the most cherished natural spaces of escape close to the charming city of Winchester. 

With local campaigner Chris Gillham and CPRE Hampshire, join us on a friendly and fascinating guided walk that peices together the story of the land as we take in its natural beauty. 

The walk is just over 4 miles long with a number of stops along the way. We will begin at East Winchester Park and Ride and walk past Cowslip Fields which is a site managed for wildflowers. From here we will walk up St Catherine's Hill and over the motorway to visit the adjoining chalk downland sites. We will return in a ciurcular route back through the valley and along the pedestrian footpath. The last stop of the walk will see us gathering in the Cadence Cafe under St Catherine's Hill where you can stop for coffee/tea and cake. 

Please note, although the walk is not too phsycially challenging, it is quite up and down and part are on unstable ground. 

If you have a phsyical disability that prevents you from walking but would like to join us for coffee at the end of the walk where we will looking at some historical photos related to the area, please contact Katy at [email protected]

Date: Saturday 12th September 

Time: 10am - 3pm

Length of walk: 4 to 4.5 miles 

Meeting Place: East Winchester Park and Ride at 10am by the public toilet blocks

Googlemaps: East Winchester Park and Ride, Garnier Road, SO239NP

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(there is also free parking in the St Catherine's Hill Garnier Road car park but this is very limited and about 10 minutes walk from our meeting place) 

What to bring: Sturdy walking shoes and a bottle of water. Clothes appropriate for the weather on the day. 

Toilets: puiblic toilets are available at East Winchester Park and Ride where we meet to start the walk and there is a toilet at Cadence Cafe where we finish the walk. 

First Aid: There will be a trained first aider on site during the walk.