Today I’m back at the toll bridge over the creek in Eling.
On the south side of the creek I head toward the church. On the map a public footpath is shown running from the church down to the shore, then along the shoreline for a short distance. My research suggests that it is actually possible to continue along the shore all the way to Marchwood. As the alternative is walking along the road a short way inland, I decide to give it a go - readers of my last walk will probably be thinking I’m an idiot who doesn’t learn from his mistakes!
The path crosses a meadow to the bank of the River Test opposite Southampton docks…
I follow the path towards the woods. It gets boggier and muddier, and less ‘beachy’ the closer I get…
Just as I’m wondering how do-able this route is, the path heads into the woods. It’s a bit overgrown, but passable!
I have occasional views of the water through the bushes, featuring plenty of boat action…
Mostly however, its woodland all the way…
After about half an hour in the woods, I emerge onto a bit of beach (still opposite the docks!)…
I am now at Marchwood, and have a nice bit of seawall to walk on past some expensive-looking riverside flats built on an old Royal Navy base…
My way is now blocked by a large area of industry, so I have to head inland through the residential streets of Marchwood - nice enough but a bit dull!
Leaving Marchwood, just as the buildings stop so does the pavement. Not dodgy at all…
Fortunately I only have to walk down here for less than ten minutes, then I turn left down a small lane towards Veal’s Farm.
At the bottom of the lane is a public footpath that runs for nearly two miles all the way to Hythe. It is well-surfaced, east to walk on, and I don’t see a single other person all the way!
So I arrive in Hythe, which has a nice little town centre beside the sea - the Rivers Test and Itchen have now joined together, forming Southampton Water!
The town has a long pier…
Up until very recently there was a ferry service across to Southampton, but it has now gone into administration and closed down. There is an old narrow gauge railway built to take ferry passengers down the pier, and this is still running - presumably hanging on as a tourist attraction!
For anyone walking the official King Charles III England Coast Path this all presents a bit of a problem. The ferry was part of it! But fear not - the train driver (above - in red) told me that the King has been informed…
Leaving Hythe, I walk past a small industrial area then past a marshland nature reserve.
After a few minutes the road turns inland. This is the point where the coast becomes impassable due to the vast Fawley oil refinery. So I continue along the road, over an apparently little-used level crossing…
…and turn left along a small lane. This soon becomes a track through the woods…
A pleasant twenty minutes later the path comes out on the A326, which is quite busy but it does at least have a pavement!
This road runs past the oil refinery on the left and the small town of Holbury on the right. Despite the huge size of the pipes and tanks and stuff, you can’t actually see much of the refinery from the road thanks to all the greenery!
About a mile down the road is a junction where I fork left towards the village of Fawley. There are no visible pavements so I’m steeling myself for another, longer, walk down a fast road when I discover a footpath hidden behind a hedge! This opens out onto a large park area…
Handily this takes me the rest of the way to the village of Fawley, my finish point for today!
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