Robust Rambles

Section 8 (Out)

Stelling Minnis to Hastingleigh

Walk Details

Walk Instructions

With the Rose & Crown pub behind, walk up the car park and turn right on the main road, down past the village shop.

At the road junction ahead bear slightly left across to a rough farm track going forward.

Soon reach a Y-fork. Turn right to Knowler Farm. Follow the drive up to the farmhouse, then around to the left infront of the house. Keep on, passing all the buildings on the right and meet a metal fieldgate at the corner into a large camping field.

Go through (there is a pedestrian swing gate to the right of the metal fieldgate) and turn diagonally right across the centre of the field to a stile in the far opposite corner.

Cross the stile and bear diagonally right across a huge field towards the largest tree in the distance.

At the far side cross a stile onto a bridleway. Turn left along it for nearly ½ mile.

Before reaching a farm meet a cross path. There are no easy features to spot here. There is a waymark wooden post in the vegetation on the left so keep a careful eye for this.

Turn right here into a field corner and continue along the edge of the field with a hedge on your left.

Eventually reach a corner and cross a stile. A rough path is currently cleared through bushes ahead but it is best to get into the field on the right and continue up the edge with the bushes on your left.

Finally leave the bushes on the left and continue up the side of a field with only a wire fence on the left. Halfway along reach a stile in the fence.

Cross this and turn diagonally right to the far opposite corner. Cross a stile and exit onto a road.

This is a fast stretch of busy road so cross with care and turn left along the verge a few paces then right, along the side road to Misling.

Stay on the road around a sharp left bend (ignore a footpath off right here). In 50 metres turn right into a gap in the hedge and cross a stile by a metal fieldgate. Go down the edge of the field with a hedge on your left.

Continue down to the very bottom corner and exit through a gap in the hedge into the corner of another huge field.

Bear right up the edge with trees on your right.

At the top corner exit through a gap and bear right, to follow a broad path through woods for some way.

At the top of the incline reach a T-junction with a farm track by several metal fieldgates. Turn left along this track.

At the end reach a road. Turn left. Pass the first house on your right and turn right through wooden fieldgates onto a drive (there is no signage off the road).

In a few paces reach the corner of a grassy field. Bear left off the drive onto a grassy path up the side of the field with a hedge on your left.

At the top corner follow the path around a few paces, then left through a gap in the hedge, and on up the side of a summerhouse. Keep on up looking for a metal kissing gate n your left. Cross into a field.

Turn immediately left along the fence on your left to soon reach a corner. Here turn diagonally right across the open field to another metal kissing gate at the far side.

Enter an area of scattered trees. Continue forwards in the same direction. At the far side of the trees meet the hedge on your left. There is a stile in this hedge but it is completely overgrown (as is the official exit) so keep forward to the end of the field and double metal fieldgates which have to be climbed onto a road.

Turn right along the road. Drop downhill. At a sharp right bend, go forward up the bank and through a metal swing gate. Bear left uphill to a second metal swing gate into a field.

Bear diagonally right, up and across the centre of this narrow pasture to a third swing gate hidden in bushes in the top opposite corner. Go forward on an enclosed path between temporary fences.

Go through a fourth metal swing gate and bear right across a paddock to a stile by a lone tree. Continue up and enclosed path towards houses.

Exit through a final metal swing gate down onto a T-junction with a byway with a road up on your left.

Turn right down the rough and overgrown byway. It soon opens out into a better track but is very stoney with large loose stones which make for slow going.

At the bottom emerge at a road junction and go straight across and up the road ahead.

At a bend go forward, up a concrete slope, into a rising, enclosed byway, for ¼ mile.

At a more open spot near the top of the rise pass a feint path off left into bushes. A few paces further on look for another feint path off right up into a field (there is a waymark post set back from the byway and not immediately obvious).

This path on the right is the point of the return route. As there are no daytime facilities in Hastingleigh, walkers may wish to start the return at this point.

For those continuing into Hastingleigh, continue along the byway to emerge at the pond in the centre of the village and the end of the section.